No Longer Oppn’s Punching Bag: How Gyanesh Kumar Is Transforming India’s Election Commission

Last Updated:August 12, 2025, 10:49 IST

Before heading the poll body, the 61-year-old played a key role in implementing decisions following the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K during his five years at the Home Ministry

With Bihar elections looming and political tensions rising, Gyanesh Kumar’s commitment to transparency and fairness will be under the spotlight. (PTI)

The Election Commission of India is no stranger to accusations of bias from opposition parties. Each Chief Election Commissioner has navigated the criticisms in their own way, with present CEC Gyanesh Kumar being no different. However, what sets Kumar apart from his predecessors is his approach anchored in legal frameworks and propelled through proactive engagement.

Kumar—a 1988-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer who holds a B.Tech degree in Civil Engineering from IIT Kanpur and has also completed Environmental Economics from Harvard University—is trying to transform the ECI into a benchmark for transparency, accountability, and dialogue.

Among Kumar’s modernisation initiatives is the launch of the ECINET dashboard, which integrates several digital services into a unified, accessible platform. The platform allows Presiding Officers to enter voter turnout updates every two hours, reducing delays in polling trend updates—a major complaint ECI faced during the 2024 Lok Sabha.

Yet, it is his oversight of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls that most starkly illustrates his method: an overhaul driven by legal rigour to ensure electoral integrity. This is the first such drive the poll body has conducted in over two decades.

Even before rolling out the SIR drive, Kumar began the work on electoral roll sanitation, using death registries to remove ineligible entries.

While SIR sparked controversy over potential disenfranchisement, the ECI countered criticism by releasing daily bulletins. As of 10 days after the August 1 draft roll release, no objections had been filed—a testament to procedural clarity and engagement, as per the ECI.

All Stakeholders Involved

Kumar has personally engaged with political stakeholders, meeting every national and state party president to foster direct communication and constructive discourse. This is the first time such meetings are taking place across the political spectrum.

The poll body took a decentralised approach for institutional accountability. Since February, when Kumar took office, the ECI has conducted 4,719 all-party meetings involving over 28,000 representatives of various political parties.

About 40 meetings were by the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), and another 800 at District Election Officer (DEO) levels. At least 3,879 meetings were called by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).

Among his unique initiatives was calling the EROs and DEOs, along with CEOs, for a meeting with him. The CEOs are in charge of elections at the state level, DEOs at districts, and EROs at the assembly constituency level.

Navigating Political Pressure

The Chief Election Commissioner’s role demands sharp administrative skills and resilience against political attacks

A former senior official from the Election Commission, speaking anonymously to News18, explained this dynamic: “The party losing the election is most likely to question the role of the ECI and CEC. They won’t do that when they will win. So, whosoever heads the position should be aware that everything they do will be questioned."

The Bihar SIR exemplifies Kumar’s boldness, they said, adding that claims from opposition parties on voter lists in various parts of the country make it all the more important to hold such a drive, not just in one state but everywhere.

“But instead of understanding the need, the ECI was questioned and attacked. The success of these drives will be a victory for democracy," they added.

Kumar’s Journey Before ECI

Before heading the ECI, the 61-year-old held several important and reform-driven positions, including his role as the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), overseeing the crucial Jammu & Kashmir Division under Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Kumar played a key role in implementing decisions following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir during his five years at the Home Ministry as Joint Secretary between May 2016 and September 2018 and then as Additional Secretary between September 2018 and April 2021.

Until retirement in January 2024, he also served as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence; Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation.

He was appointed the Election Commissioner in March 2024, just before the Lok Sabha elections, and was promoted to the current post this year.

A Different Style Compared to Rajiv Kumar

Gyanesh Kumar’s proactive, data-driven leadership marks a clear break from his predecessor. Former CEC Rajiv Kumar’s style was different as he often chose to respond to criticism not with direct confrontation but through poetic expression, using Shayari to subtly address accusations and connect with the public.

Throughout his term, Rajiv Kumar remained largely mute on most of the allegations the poll body faced but occasionally turned ‘shayar’ during press conferences to reply to political parties and the media. This poetic approach was his way of acknowledging the swirling rumours while cautioning against taking them at face value.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 Delhi Assembly poll announcement, he used poetry to reply: “Jhooth ke bazaar mei raunak toh bohot hai, goya bul bule jaisi hi turant hi phat jati hai, pakad bhi loge toh kya hasil hoga sivaye dokhe ke." (In the market of lies, there is much splendour, as if it were a bubble that bursts immediately, and if you try to catch it, what will you gain except deceit.)

Countering the allegations, he also said: “Sab sawaal ki ehmiyat rakhte hain, jawab toh banta hai. Aadatan qalam-band jawab dete rahe, aaj roobaru bhi banta hai. Kya pata kal ho na ho, aaj jawab toh banta hai." (All questions are important; hence, we must answer them. We usually have a habit of replying in writing, but we must respond face-to-face today. We never know if tomorrow will come or not, hence replying to questions today is important.)

Long Battle Ahead

As opposition parties ramp up their allegations, including Congress’s intensified ‘vote chori’ campaign, the Election Commission faces perhaps its greatest test yet.

With Bihar elections looming and political tensions rising, Gyanesh Kumar’s commitment to transparency and fairness will be under the spotlight like never before—a challenge that could define the future of India’s democratic process.

Nivedita Singh

Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived...Read More

Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived...

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First Published:

August 12, 2025, 10:49 IST

News india No Longer Oppn’s Punching Bag: How Gyanesh Kumar Is Transforming India’s Election Commission

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