Who Is Sushil Chandra? Know All About New Chief Election Commissioner Who Will Take Charge From Today

Sushil Chandra is set to formally take over as the new Chief Election Commissioner from Today. Prior to his appointment as Election Commissioner of India, Chandra has served as the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

Image: PTI

As the tenure of Sunil Arora, the former head of the Election Commission ends, Sushil Chandra is set to formally take over as the new Chief Election Commissioner from Today.

According to a statement issued by the Legislative Department of the Law Ministry, Chandra will assume charge on Tuesday, April 13. With this, Chandra will be the 24th head of the country’s poll body.

President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Chandra as the chief of Election Commission in line with the convention to appoint the senior-most election commissioner as the CEC.

The Election Commission (EC) has three members and it has been a tradition that the senior most commissioner is appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner. Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Along with Arora and Ashok Lavasa, Chandra oversaw the successful organisation of 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Prior to his appointment as Election Commissioner of India, Chandra has served as the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex body that looks after the implementation of direct taxes in India. Under his leadership, CBDT launched “Operation Clean Money” in 2017 in a bid to curb illegal wealth and black money.

Born on 15 May 1957, Chandra pursued BTech, followed by LLB Degree. Initially he was in the Indian Engineering Service but later joined Indian Revenue Service (IRS) where he spent 38 years of his career before assuming charge as Election Commissioner of India.

Chandra would demit office on May 14, 2022. During his tenure, the poll body would conduct assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.