1. Meeting Venue and Attendees:
– The meeting to finalize the names of two new electon commissioners will be held at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg (7LKM).
– Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, will also be present at the meeting.
2. Committee Composition:
– The high-powered committee, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is tasked with selecting the electon commissioners.
– The committee includes:
– Prime Minister Narendra Modi
– A Union Minister
– Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
3. Vacancies and Resignations:
– The vacancies for the electin commissioners arose due to:
– The resignation of Arun Goel on March 8.
– The retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14.
– Currently, Rajiv Kumar remains as the sole member of the poll authority, serving as the Chief Eletion Commissioner.
4. Appointment Process:
– The selecton committee will meet to finalize the names of the new elecion commissioners.
– President Droupadi Murmu will then appoint the two members based on the recommendation of the selection committee.
– Reports suggest that the appointments are likely to be made either on the same day or the following day of the meeting.
5. New Law on Appointments:
– The appointments will be the first to be made under a new law regarding the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Electin Commissioners (ECs).
– The new law allows the three-member selecton panel to appoint a person who was not short-listed by the search committee.
– Previously, elecion commissioners were appointed by the President based on the government’s recommendation, and traditionally, the senior-most member was appointed as the CEC.
6. Constitutional Basis:
– Article 324, Clause 2 of the Constitution states the composition of the Electon Commission.
– Originally, the commission comprised only a Chief Election Commissioner. Currently, it consists of the CEC and two electon commissioners.
These details provide a comprehensive overview of the upcoming meeting, the selection process for the election commissioners, and the relevant legal and constitutional framework.
he meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 14, will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is aimed at finalizing the names of two new election commissioners to fill the vacancies in the Commission. These vacancies arose due to the resignation of Arun Goel on March 8 and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14, leaving Chief Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the sole member of the poll authority.
The panel comprises Prime Minister Narendra Modi as chairperson, a Union minister, and the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, as its members. The meeting will be held at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg (7LKM), where Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, will also be present.
A search committee, headed by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, convened on Wednesday evening to prepare a panel of five candidates to fill the two vacancies of commissioners in the Election Commission. Once the committee recommends candidates, President Droupadi Murmu will appoint the two members of the poll panel.