Gyanesh Kumar
Chief Election Commissioner of India since 2025
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Gyanesh Kumar (born 27 January 1964) is the current chief election commissioner of India, and the first to be appointed under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.[1][2] He has previously served as an election commissioner and as an IAS officer.[3] He came under scrutiny during the 2025 Indian electoral controversy, where the Election Commission of India (ECI) was accused of collusion with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of having engaged in electoral fraud in the 2024 Indian general election.
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Gyanesh Kumar | |
|---|---|
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management in 2025. | |
| Chief Election Commissioner of India | |
| Assumed office 19 February 2025 | |
| Appointed by | Droupadi Murmu |
| Preceded by | Rajiv Kumar |
| Election Commissioner of India | |
| In office 14 March 2024 – 18 February 2025 | |
| Chief Election Commissioner | Rajiv Kumar |
| Preceded by | Anup Chandra Pandey |
| Succeeded by | Vivek Joshi |
| Cooperation Secretary of India | |
| In office 3 May 2022 – 31 January 2024 | |
| Minister | Amit Shah |
| Preceded by | Devendra Kumar Singh |
| Succeeded by | Ashish Kumar Bhutani |
| Parliamentary Affairs Secretary of India | |
| In office 1 May 2021 – 2 May 2022 | |
| Minister | Prahlad Joshi |
| Preceded by | R. S. Shukla |
| Succeeded by | Gudey Srinivas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 January 1964 Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Alma mater | |
In December 2025, Gyanesh Kumar became the chairman of the council of member states of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for 2026. He assumed the role during his visit of Stockholm, Sweden on the 3 December 2025.[4][5]
Early life and education
Gyanesh Kumar was born on 27 January 1964 in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. He completed a BTech at IIT Kanpur. Following his graduating, Kumar pursued Business Finance at the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India, before studying Environmental Economics at Harvard University.[6][7]
Career
Kumar served as Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Defence Production at the Ministry of Defence from 2007 to 2012.[8] He later served as Joint Secretary to the Government of India in Ministry of Home Affairs from 2016 to 2018 and then as Additional Secretary to the Government of India from 2018 to 2021.
He was later served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Ministry of Co-operation.[9] During his tenure, the Co-operation Ministry[10] saw the enactment of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) (Amendment) Act, 2023,[11] and formation of three new national cooperative bodies, those being the Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL), National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), and National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL).[12] On 19 February 2025, Kumar was appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner of India.[13]
Chief Election Commissioner of India
On 19 February 2025, Gyanesh Kumar joined as 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India.[14] Kumar implemented a range of initiatives to enhance India's electoral process. From February to September 2025, the Election Commission of India (ECI) rolled out 30 key measures under his leadership, focusing on stakeholder engagement, electoral reforms, technological advancements, ensuring the integrity of voter rolls, improving voting accessibility, and strengthening capacity building.[15][16]
Bihar Legislative Assembly election
The 2025 Bihar Assembly election took place in two phases on 6 and 11 November to elect all 243 members of the 18th Assembly. It was the first major state election overseen by Gyanesh Kumar after his appointment as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India.[17][18]
Citing better law and order, improved logistics, and greater availability of Central Armed Police Forces, Gyanesh Kumar scheduled the Bihar Assembly election in just two phases—a shift from earlier elections, including the seven-phase 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state.[19]
Under Gyanesh Kumar’s guidance, polling across all 243 constituencies was peaceful. Bihar recorded a 66.91% turnout—its highest since 1951—with 4.94 crore voters. Women voted in especially large numbers, with a 71.6% turnout, significantly higher than men.[20][21]
International IDEA
Gyanesh Kumar assumed charge as the Chairman of the Council of Member States of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for the year 2026 on 3 December 2025. The body comprises 37 democratic nations. With this, India assumed the chairmanship of the Council for the first time in the 30 year history of the organization.[22][23]
India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management 2026
Under his leadership ECI hosted the India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management 2026 from 21–23 January 2026 at Bharat Mandapam. The conference brought together delegates from 42 Election Management Bodies (EMBs), Ambassadors and High Commissioners from 27 countries, and experts from more than 70 national institutions, creating a high level platform for international dialogue and exchange on the future of elections.[24][25]
At the conclusion of the conference, the Delhi Declaration 2026 was unanimously adopted by the participating EMBs. Through the declaration, the EMBs resolved to strengthen cooperation and work collectively on five key pillars relating to the Purity of Electoral Rolls, Conduct of Elections, Research and Publications, Use of Technology, and Training and Capacity Building.[26]
During the conference, Commission held more than over 40 bilateral meetings with heads of delegations. Gyanesh Kumar emphasized India’s willingness to collaborate with election management bodies across the world in the areas of capacity building and the use of technology in election management, with a view to further strengthening democratic processes globally.[27]
National Round Table Conference of ECI
During Gyanesh Kumar’s tenure The Election Commission of India organized the National Round Table Conference of ECI and State Election Commissioners 2026 after 27 years.. Representatives from the State Election Commissions of States participated in the National Round Table, which served as a platform for deliberations on strengthening electoral processes and institutional cooperation between the constitutional bodies responsible for elections in India.[28]
Under the leadership of Gyanesh Kumar, all participating SECs resolved to adopt the National Declaration 2026. The declaration affirmed that the preparation of pure electoral rolls forms the bedrock of democracy and that the transparent and efficient conduct of elections further strengthens democratic institutions.[29]
2025 Indian electoral controversy
In August 2025, Kumar became a focal point of the 2025 Indian electoral controversy, wherein Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Indian National Congress (often simply known as "the Congress"), alleged widespread electoral fraud in the 2024 Indian general election and the collusion of the ECI with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leading to protests.[30] Gandhi stated that votes had been "stolen" in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura Assembly constituency through five separate ways, those being 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 voters with fake and invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters or single address voters, 4,132 voters with invalid photos, and 33,692 voters misusing Form 6, which is used for the registration of new voters.[31] Kumar has been widely criticised by opposition parties and leaders, of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) coalition of failing to adequately respond to the allegations and of mimicking BJP rhetoric. In reaction, Kumar has criticised the opposition of "spreading misinformation".[32]
Kumar also refused to provide machine-readable voter lists and CCTV footage of polling, citing "voter privacy concerns", instead repeatedly demanding that the opposition submit signed affidavits. However, when asked about Anurag Thakur, a BJP Member of Parliament who had made similar allegations of electoral fraud against the Congress, but against whom the ECI had remained silent and who was not asked to submit any affidavits, Kumar did not respond.[33]
During a parliamentary session on 18 August 2025, the INDIA bloc publicly acknowledged that it was considering a motion of impeachment against Kumar.[32]
Awards & honors
In November 2025, Gyanesh Kumar, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award (DAA) from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.[34]