Sunil Arora appointed Chief Election Commissioner, to take over from OP Rawat on Dec 2

india

Updated: Nov 26, 2018 22:24 IST

President Ramnath Kovind has cleared the appointment of former bureaucrat Sunil Arora as the chief election commissioner, according to persons aware of the development.

Arora, who is currently election commissioner, will take over the top job at the poll panel on December 2, when the incumbent OP Rawat demits office. Ashok Lavasa is the second election commissioner.

Arora, takes over office at a time when the poll panel is in the midst of conducting assembly elections in five states, which are being considered as a semi-final to the 2019 general elections.

A former secretary in the ministry of information and broadcasting, Arora has also served as the secretary in the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship. A 1980-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, Arora has served stints in ministries such as finance, textiles and planning commission and served as joint secretary in the ministry of civil aviation.

In the past, a similar change during elections happened when Navin Chawla’s took over from N Gopalaswami during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.