On 13th March, a notification by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs surfaced on social media claiming that two Election Commissioners to the Election Commission of India have been appointed. As per the notification, the High-Powered Committee (HPC) comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, appointed Dr Rajesh Kumar Gupta (retd IAS) and Priyansh Sharma (retd IAS) as Election Commissioners. Furthermore, the notification suggested both would assume office from 31st March 2024.
The said notification was shared by several social media users.
However, a courtesy search about the gazette notification revealed that the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs still needs to issue such notification. Furthermore, the Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check unit also dismissed the notification as fake. In a post on X, PIB Fact Check wrote, “A notification regarding the appointment of two Election Commissioners to the Election Commission of India is circulating on social media. This notification is #fake. No such Gazette notification has been issued.”
Arun Goel resigned ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Election Commissioner Arun Goel on 9th March resigned from the post. His resignation was accepted by the President. the election dates are likely to be announced next week. With Goel’s resignation, the Election Commission is left only with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, because the EC already had a vacancy. The Commission is down to two members after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February this year. The government has already started the process of selecting a new EC in place of Pandey, but now they will have to recruit two new ones.
The reason for the resignation just ahead of the general elections is not known. Goel assumed charge as Election Commissioner (EC) of India on November 21, 2022. His appointment was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Association for Democratic Reforms, but the court dismissed the petition in August last year. ADR has approached the Supreme Court to stop the Government from appointing Election Commissioners as per Section 7 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.