Gyanesh Kumar
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 Serving with Sukhbir Singh Sandhu | |
| 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 | |
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. He has previously served as an election commissioner and as an IAS officer. 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.
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.