New Delhi, Mar 9 (Agency) Weeks before Lok Sabha polls, Election Commissioner Arun Goel has resigned from the key post. The President of India Droupadi Murmu has accepted his resignation with effect from March 9, 2024. “In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 9th March 2024,” said a gazette notification from Ministry of Law and Justice. Goel, a retired IAS officer of 1985 batch (Punjab cadre) had assumed the charge as Election Commissioner of India in November 2022. With Goel resigning, the poll panel is now left only with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar.
The Parliament had late last year passed a legislation providing for a mechanism which ensures bigger say of government in appointment Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners (ECs). Accordingly, the CEC and ECs will be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition or leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha. The opposition parties had opposed the mechanism arguing that it will have implications on the independence of the poll body. They claimed that the government had brought the new law to circumvent a judgement of the Supreme Court related to the appointments of the CEC and the ECs. With the three-member Election Commission of India now left with only CEC, there is a possibility of delay in announcement of the poll schedule for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.