Retired IAS Officer Rajiv Kumar Appointed EC in Place of Ashok Lavasa

Retired bureaucrat Rajiv Kumar was on Friday appointed as election commissioner in place of Ashok Lavasa who resigned.

Lavasa had on Tuesday sent his resignation as Election Commissioner to the President, as he has been selected as Vice President of the Asian Development Bank.

“ In pursuance of clause (2) of article 324 of the Constitution, the President is pleased to appoint Rajiv Kumar, IAS(Retd.) as the Election Commissioner with effect from the date he assumes the office vice Ashok Lavasa, Election Commissioner who has resigned with effect from 31st August, 2020,” the Law Ministry said in a notification on Friday.

Lavasa still has over two years left in his term at the Election Commission. He would have retired as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in October 2022.

As Chief Election Commissioner, he would have conducted Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.

His premature exit — the second in the Election Commission’s history — puts his colleague Sushil Chandra next in the line of succession.

Rajiv Kumar holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in zoology and the other in law, along with a master’s degree in public policy and sustainability. He is known as a person who manages to find solutions to difficult problems.

Kumar has widespread administrative experience in more than 30 years of service during which he held various important assignments including the Administrative postings in his home state of Jharkhand. Kumar has also worked in the Central Government in various capacities.