Rajiv Kumar takes over as 25th chief election commissioner of India

Rajiv Kumar takes charge as the new Chief Election Commissioner, at Election Commission office in New Delhi.

NEW DELHI, May 15: Rajiv Kumar took over as the new chief election commissioner on Sunday, a day after his predecessor Sushil Chandra retired.
Kumar will oversee the upcoming Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Jammu and Kashmir and the 2024 general elections during his tenure.
The Ministry of Law and Justice on May 12 announced that the new chief election commissioner would take over on May 15.
Kumar’s chief election commissioner tenure begins right after the delimitation commission finalised its order for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, recommending seven additional constituencies — six for Jammu and one for Kashmir — and taking the total number of seats in the UT to 90. It also comes at a time when the poll panel’s decisions have met with criticism by mainstream parties in the Valley. It will also pave the way for elections to be held in the Union Territory, which has been without an elected government since 2018. (Agencies)