OP Rawat to take over as CEC from AK Joti

Om Prakash Rawat has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), succeeding incumbent Achal Kumar Jyoti to the post, the Law Ministry said on Sunday.

AK Joti is expected to hand over the reigns of the Election Commission to Rawat on January 23. Rawat has been appointed as the 22nd CEC by President Ram Nath Kovind on the recommendation of the central government. Also, former finance secretary Ashok Lawasa has been appointed as the election commissioner.

Joti's tenure was marked by several high-profile decisions, including some that created controversies. The EC under his tenure had nullified two votes of Congress rebels in favour of BJP during the Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat, which ensured that Congress candidate Ahmed Patel won his seat by a whisker. Three days before his retirement, the election commission took a decision to disqualify 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs.

As the commission consists of two commissioners besides the CEC, Sunil Arora is the second election commissioner along with Lawasa.

Rawat, who will take over as the CEC this week, is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre (Batch 1977). Prior to his appointment as Election Commissioner of India, he had retired as Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Department of Public Enterprises on December 31, 2013 on superannuation.

In 1993, in his first stint at Centre, Rawat served as Director/Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry. During this tenure, he was deputed to South Africa in May, 1994 as United Nations election observer to oversee maiden elections in the country post-apartheid.