Senior batchmates in bureaucracy make great pals, with the past just being past and the future looking perfectly perched post-retirement. Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, the new election commissioners, raise equal amounts of expectations — except the time when they were chosen. The 1988-batch IAS officers — Kumar comes from the Kerala cadre and Sandhu from Uttarakhand cadre — replace Arun Goel, who abruptly resigned, and Anup Chandra Pandey, who retired on February 14. It was Goel’s exit that created a storm for two reasons: first, he quit when the EC was about to announce the dates for parliamentary polls and, second, the EC was left with a solitary poll manager, the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. The government’s last-minute appointments of ECs raised Congress heckles.
It was learnt that the selection panel headed by Prime Minister, with Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury being the two other members, selected Kumar and Sandhu from among the six names shortlisted from over 200 candidates that reportedly came up before a search committee.
All said and done, the poll panel with CEC Rajiv Kumar, a 1984-batch retired IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, is in full strength. It would be safe to assume that PM’s trust on both the retired IAS officers got them the coveted jobs. They, however, are also known for their astute bureaucratic skills — patience, perseverance and resilience.
Gyanesh Kumar has the distinction of working closely with Home Minister Amit Shah. He, as a joint secretary in the Jammu & Kashmir division of Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), played a key role in bridging the gap between the then office of J&K Governor Satyapal Malik and the Centre at a time when the government decided to do away with the provisions of Article 370.
Kumar further passed the patience test when he was denied empanelment as Additional Secretary (AS) in the first list and later empanelled as AS-Equivalent. On his empanelment as Secretary, in the first review list, he was appointed the parliamentary affairs secretary, generally considered a shunting post.
Kumar was soon moved to the newly created Ministry of Cooperation under Shah as its Secretary. His tenure was seen as a reward amid an indication that the government would reward him with some key position post-retirement.
His tenure in the cooperation ministry saw many new initiatives being taken by the government, which included the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the formation of three new national cooperative bodies — Bharatiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited, National Cooperative Organics Limited, and National Cooperative Export Limited. He also played a crucial role in the timely launch of the CRCS-Sahara refund portal for the submission of claims by depositors of four multi-state cooperative societies of Sahara Group.
Kumar also served as Joint Secretary (defence production) in the Ministry of Defence from 2007 to 2012 during the UPA government.
Sandhu is seen as one of the most versatile officers. He brings in a vast experience in administration as secretary to then Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, Principal Secretary to then Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat, the chairman of the National Highways Authority of India, and Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Having completed his extended tenure as chief secretary on January 31, 2024, the Centre picked him for the prime post of secretary to the Lokpal on a contract basis for a year. Since he has proved his mettle in varied roles in the government as one of the most trusted officers, Modi government has now rewarded him with the coveted post of Election Commissioner.
It is perhaps the first time that two ECs are of the same batch, leaving the question on who will succeed CEC Rajiv Kumar when he completes his tenure in April 2025.
There are two views in the bureaucratic circles: a section believes that their seniority would be decided by the merit list of the batch; another section argues that the yardstick won’t apply after retirement and the two batchmates will have to compete to fit into the CEC’s shoes.