Election Commissioner of India

Members of the body overseeing elections

Not to be confused with Chief Election Commissioner of India.

Election Commissioner of India

Flag of India

Incumbent
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu
Vivek Joshi

since 14 March 2024 & 19 February 2025

Type| Election Commissioner
Status| Deputy Head of the Election Commission of India
Reports to| Parliament of India
Seat| Nirvachan Sadan, New Delhi, India
Appointer| President of India
Term length| 6 years or at the age of 65 (whichever is earlier)
Inaugural holder|

* V.S. Seigell
* S. S. Dhanoa

Salary| ₹250,000 (US$3,000)
Website| Election Commission of India
This article is part of a series on the

Politics of India

Constitution

* Amendment
* Basic structure doctrine
* Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and
Fundamental Duties of India
* Human rights
* Judicial review
* Taxation
* Uniform Civil Code

Government

* President of India

* Droupadi Murmu (15th)

* * *

* Vice President of India

* vacant (15th)

* * *

* Prime Minister of India

* Narendra Modi (14th)

* * *

* Cabinet secretary

* T. V. Somanathan

* * *

* Ministries
* Ministers
* Departments
* Secretaries

Parliament

Lok Sabha (18th)

* Speaker

* Om Birla

* * *

* Deputy Speaker

* Vacant

* * *

* Leader of the House

* Narendra Modi (BJP)

* * *

* Leader of the Opposition

* Rahul Gandhi (INC)

* * *

* Secretary General

* Utpal Kumar Singh

Rajya Sabha (Members)

* Chairman

* vacant

* * *

* Deputy Speaker

* Harivansh Narayan Singh

* * *

* Leader of the House

* Jagat Prakash Nadda (BJP)

* * *

* Leader of the Opposition

* Mallikarjun Kharge (INC)

* * *

* Secretary General

* Pramod Chandra Mody

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs

* Cabinet Minister

* Kiren Rijiju

* * *

* Minister of State

* Arjun Ram Meghwal
* L. Murugan

Law and judiciary

Law of India

* Indian criminal law

* Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
* Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
* Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam

* * *

* Code of Civil Procedure

Supreme Court of India

* Chief Justice (51st)

* Sanjiv Khanna

* * *

* Judges
* Bar Association

* * *

* Bar Council
* District Court
* List
* Gram Nyayalaya
* High Court
* Chief Justices
* Judges
* Lok Adalat
* Nyaya Panchayat
* Pendency of court cases
* Other tribunals

Ministry of Law and Justice

* Minister

* Arjun Ram Meghwal

* * *

* Attorney-General

* R. Venkataramani

* * *

* Solicitor General

* Tushar Mehta

* * *

* Additional Solicitor General

* * *

* Law Commission
* National Judicial Appointments Commission
* National Legal Services Authority

Elections and politics

Election Commission

* Chief Election Commissioner

* Gyanesh Kumar

* * *

* Election Commissioner

* Sukhbir Singh Sandhu
* Vivek Joshi

* * *

* State Election Commission

Elections

* Democracy
* Electoral College
* Electronic voting

* * *

* Presidential elections

* 2022
* 2017
* 2012

* * *

* Vice Presidential elections

* 2022
* 2017
* 2012

* * *

* Lok Sabha elections (Constituencies)

* 2014
* 2019
* 2024

* * *

* Rajya Sabha elections

* 2024
* 2023
* 2022

* * *

* State Assembly elections

* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

* * *

* National coalitions
* NDA
* INDIA
* Political parties
* National parties
* State parties

Administrative divisions

States and union territories (Capitals)

* States

* Andhra Pradesh
* Arunachal Pradesh
* Assam
* Bihar
* Chhattisgarh
* Goa
* Gujarat
* Haryana
* Himachal Pradesh
* Jharkhand
* Karnataka
* Kerala
* Madhya Pradesh
* Maharashtra
* Manipur
* Meghalaya
* Mizoram
* Nagaland
* Odisha
* Punjab
* Rajasthan
* Sikkim
* Tamil Nadu
* Telangana
* Tripura
* Uttar Pradesh
* Uttarakhand
* West Bengal

* * *

* Union territories

* Andaman and Nicobar
* Chandigarh
* Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
* Delhi
* Jammu and Kashmir
* Ladakh
* Lakshadweep
* Puducherry

* * *

* Proposed states and union territories

* * *

* Autonomous Divisions
* Divisions
* Districts
* Sub-districts
* Community Development Block
* Metropolitan Areas
* Urban Agglomerations

Federalism

Executive

* Governor
* List
* Lieutenant Governor/Administrator
* List
* Chief Minister
* List
* Deputy Chief Minister
* List
* Ministries

Legislative

* Legislative Council
* Legislative Assembly
* Speaker
* List
* Official Opposition
* List

Local Government

* Municipal Governance

* Municipal Corporation
* Municipality
* Town Panchayat

* * *

* Panchayati Raj

* District Panchayat
* Block Panchayat
* Gram Panchayat

Foreign relations

Ministry of External Affairs

* Cabinet Minister

* S. Jaishankar

* * *

* Minister of State

* Kirti Vardhan Singh
* Pabitra Margherita

* * *

* Foreign Secretary

* Vinay Mohan Kwatra

* * *

* Diplomatic missions of / in India
* Ambassadors and High Commissioners of India / to India

* * *

* Nationality law
* Overseas Citizenship
* Passports
* Visa policy
* Visa requirements

Foreign Relations

* 2+2
* BIMSTEC
* BBIN
* BRICS
* Commonwealth
* G4
* G20
* IBSA
* IONS
* IORA
* MGC
* Non-Aligned Movement
* SAARC
* SCO
* United Nations
* QUAD

* * *

* Africa
* East Asia
* European Union
* Latin America
* Pacific Islands

* * *

* Diaspora
* History
* Extradition Treaties
* Foreign aid by India / to India
* Sanctions
* State Visits by Indian Prime Ministers
* State Visits to India

* * *

* Kashmir Conflict
* Indo-Pakistani Wars
* Sino-Indian Disputes
* Disputes with Nepal

Foreign Policy

* ITEC
* Look East policy
* Pan-African e-Network project
* Indira Gandhi
* Narendra Modi

India portal

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

Part of the Politics series

Elections

Basic types

* By-election
* Corporate
* Direct / Indirect
* Fixed-term
* Free and fair
* General
* Local
* Mid-term
* Plurality
* Primary
* Partisan
* Nonpartisan
* Proportional
* Recall
* Retention
* Snap
* Sortition
* Two-round system
* Unfair

Terminology

* Anonymous elector
* Apportionment
* Audits
* Competition
* Electoral boundary delimitation
* Crossover voting
* Electoral college
* Election law
* Election silence
* Gerrymandering
* Initiative
* Psephology
* Secret ballot
* Suffrage
* Right to stand for election

Subseries

* Administration
* Political party
* Voting
* Electoral systems

Lists

* Elections by country
* Close elections
* Most recent
* Next general elections

* National and local elections in 2025

Related

* Election security
* Electoral fraud
* Referendum (by country)
* Electoral reform
* Election science
* Paper candidate

Politics portal

* v
* t
* e

The Election Commissioners of India are the members of Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections in India. An election commissioner is appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a three member selection committee headed by the Prime Minister of India. The term of an election commissioner can be a maximum of six years or till he/she attains sixty five years of age. Election Commissioners are usually members of the Indian Civil Service.

## History

[edit]

Since 1950, the Election Commission of India was a single member body with only the Chief Election Commissioner. As per The Election Commissioner Amendment Act, 1989, the Commission was made a multi-member body with two additional election commissioners who were appointed to the commission for the first time on 16 October 1989. On 1 January 1990, the post of election commissioners were abolished again.[1] The Election Commission was once again made as a three member body on 1 October 1993.[2]

## Role and powers

[edit]

The election commissioners form part of the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national, the state legislatures, President and Vice-President. This power of the Election Commission of India is derived from the Article 324 of the Constitution of India.[1] Election Commissioners are usually members of the Indian Civil Service. The Election Commission of India consists of a chief election commissioner and two election commissioners. The chief election commissioner does not have overruling powers and any decision is taken by the opinion of the majority among the three.[1]

## Appointment and term of office

[edit]

The appointment and term of the election commissioner is prescribed in the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. As per the Section 7 of the act, an election commissioner is appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a selection committee headed by the Prime Minister of India and consisting of the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a member of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister.[3] The term of the CEC can be a maximum of six years from the date on which he/she assumes his office. However, the CEC retires from office if he/she attains the age of sixty-five years before the expiry of the term.[1]

While the CEC can only be removed by office through the process of impeachment requiring two-thirds majority of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to be present and voting for the same, election commissioners can be removed by the President on the recommendation of the CEC.[1] In 2009, Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami sent a recommendation to the then President Pratibha Patil to remove Election Commissioner Navin Chawla due to his partisan behavior in favor of a particular political party.[4] The President opined that such a recommendation is not binding on the president and rejected the same.[5]

## Compensation

[edit]

As per the Election Commission (Condition Of Service Of Election Commissions And Transaction Of Business) Act, 1991, the salary of an election commissioner is the same as salary of a Judge of Supreme Court of India.[6] The CEC draws a monthly salary of ₹250,000 (US$3,000) plus allowances.[6][7][8]

## List of Election Commissioners

[edit]

See also: List of Chief Election Commissioners

Election commissioners who have not held the office of CEC[9] Name | Took office | Left office | Span

|
|
|

V. S. Seigell | 16 October 1989 | 2 January 1990 | 78 days
S. S. Dhanoa | 16 October 1989 | 2 January 1990 | 78 days
G.V.G. Krishnamurty | 1 October 1993 | 30 September 1999 | 5 years, 364 days
Ashok Lavasa | 23 October 2018 | 31 October 2020 | 1 year, 313 days
Anup Chandra Pandey | 9 June 2021 | 14 February 2024 | 2 years, 250 days
Arun Goel | 19 November 2022 | 9 March 2024 | 1 year, 111 days
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu[10] | 14 March 2024 | Incumbent |
Vivek Joshi[11] | 19 February 2025 | Incumbent

## See also

[edit]

* History of democracy in the Indian-subcontinent

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "Election, FAQ". Government of India. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
2. ^ "About ECI". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
3. ^ "SC refuses to stay new law on appointment of CEC and ECs, issues notice to Centre". The Economic Times. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
4. ^ Ram, N. (31 January 2009). "Chief Election Commissioner Gopalaswami 'recommends' removal of Navin Chawla". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
5. ^ "President rejects Gopalaswami's report against Navin Chawla". The Hindu. 2 March 2009. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
6. ^ a b "Election Commission (Condition Of Service Of Election Commissions And Transaction Of Business) Act, 1991". Vakil No. 1. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
7. ^ "THE SUPREME COURT JUDGES (SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE) ACT, 1958 with amendments" (PDF). India Code. 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
8. ^ "THE CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER AND OTHER ELECTION COMMISSIONERS (APPOINTMENT, CONDITIONS OF SERVICE AND TERM OF OFFICE) ACT, 2023" (PDF). India Code. 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
9. ^ "Former Election Commissioners". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
10. ^ "Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu take charge as Election Commissioners". The Indian Express. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
11. ^ "Gyanesh Kumar appointed next chief election commissioner". The Hindustan Times. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Election Commissioner of India at Wikimedia Commons

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template