Few bureaucrats, have audacity to stand up to politicians, especially in the face of an open threat. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a former IAS officer of 1988 batch from Kerala cadre, seems to be an exception. He has been going ahead with Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar despite legal challenges bring thrown at him in the Supreme Court of India and threat of “repercussions” by a bevy of opposition leaders including Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi.
IAS Kumar is being subjected to allegations of voter list manipulation (vote chori in Rahul Gandhi’s lingo). Yet, not only he has politely denied the allegations but also challenged the LoP to either file an affidavit certifying his allegations or face the prosecution. Of course, Mr Kumar is holding a constitutional position and therefore, is immune from normal legal procedures. But, he is waging a no holds barred fight with almost the entire opposition.
His actions and point-by-point rebuttal of Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, has placed the Election Commission at the heart of an intense political debate. Gyanesh feels that “India’s voter list process is among the most rigorous and transparent in the world.” He has also been holding that a person’s right to franchise is sacrosanct and he will not allow anybody to hijack or vitiate it.
While his appointment was itself debated under the 2023 law governing Election Commissioners, it is his assertive stance on electoral integrity that has now made him one of the most watched figures among Indian bureaucrats.
Mr Kumar has had a very eventful bureaucratic career in which he was part of several significant and pathbreaking policy initiatives. Be it abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir or formation of Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya, no one could not keep Mr Kumar away from the action. Significantly, just before his retirement from the IAS in 2023, he was appointed first-ever Secretary to the newly formed Ministry of Cooperatives under all-powerful minister Mr. Amit Shah.
Known for his warm hospitality, he used to offer Kashmiri kahwa to journalists during his Home Ministry days. But, he never let the steaming tea leak government plans. Before that he led Iraq Evacuation in 2014 ensuring the safe return of 46 Indian nurses held hostage by the ISIS and coordinated the evacuation of 183 more citizens.
Earlier, Mr Kumar had worked in Tourism, Non-Convention Energy Resources and Urban Housing Ministries during Atal Behari Vajpayee government also knows as NDA-II government. He followed it up with a five-year stint in UPA-I government as Joint Secretary in the Defence Production ministry understanding the requirements of defence personnel and addressing these issues. Later, he was appointed Additional Secretary to Parliamentary Affairs Ministry.
An IIT Kanpur civil engineering graduate, he later studied business finance at ICFAI and environmental economics at Harvard.
Gyanesh Kumar is currently serving as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, a role he assumed in February 2025. His present tenure will continue until January 2029, during which he will oversee nearly 20 state Assembly elections, the 2027 Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls, and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, making him one of the most influential CECs in recent times.
Before this elevation, Kumar was appointed as an Election Commissioner in March 2024, just after his retirement from the civil services. In that capacity, he supervised the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the first Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir after its transition to Union Territory, and several other state polls.
Irrespective of the outcome of the present political circus on SIR, one thing is certain that Mr Gyanesh Kumar’s name is bound to go down the annals of history as one of the most stout CEC.
