Gyanesh Kumar has taken office as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, succeeding Rajiv Kumar. He is the first CEC appointed under the newly enacted law governing election commissioner appointments.
In his inaugural message, Kumar emphasized the importance of voting in democracy and encouraged all eligible citizens to participate in elections.
Kumar is a 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre. He has held several key positions at both the central and state levels, including a five-year tenure in the Union Home Ministry. His responsibilities have included work on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill following the abrogation of Article 370 and involvement in the formation of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Kumar holds a degree in civil engineering from IIT Kanpur and has pursued further studies in Business Finance from ICFAI and Environmental Economics at Harvard University.