Gurugram: Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi has been appointed as Election Commissioner—a move that positions him to potentially become the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for the next Lok Sabha elections in 2029.
Joshi’s appointment came Monday despite Opposition’s calls for a delay until the Supreme Court had addressed petitions challenging the revised process for the appointment of Election Commissioners.
“Joshi is a soft-spoken officer, and tried and tested for the present BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) regime,” said a senior IAS officer from Haryana, requesting anonymity.
“By appointing him as Election Commissioner Monday, the central government has also made sure that whatever the outcome of the petition pending before the Supreme Court regarding the procedure for appointment of ECs and CECs, Joshi is going to the Chief Election Commissioner of India, when the country goes to the Lok Sabha polls in 2029.”
The top court has said that these pleas will be taken up on “priority basis” Wednesday.
Joshi’s appointment puts him in a position to assume the CEC’s role, when newly appointed CEC Gyanesh Kumar completes his term on 27 January, 2029 upon turning 65. The other Election Commissioner, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, will complete his term on 6 July, 2028, which is before the next general election. Both Kumar and Sandhu were appointed to the Election Commission on 14 March, 2024.
The term of a CEC can be a maximum of six years, or till he/she turns 65, whichever is earlier. Joshi, aged 58 years and nine months, is expected to serve his full six-year term in the Election Commission.
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Who is Vivek Joshi?
A Haryana cadre IAS officer of the 1989 batch, Joshi has held several key administrative posts, and is said to enjoy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trust.
He took over as chief secretary of Haryana, following T.V.S.N. Prasad’s retirement in November last year.
Before he was appointed chief secretary, Joshi was working as secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. He was repatriated to his parent state at the request of the Haryana government.
He has previously served as secretary in the Union Ministry of Finance during his central deputation. He also worked as the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for four years.
Additionally, he has been a board member of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the country’s largest bank, the State Bank of India (SBI). He served as a director in the Ministry of Textiles from 2001 to 2006.
Joshi earned a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Roorkee and obtained his PhD in international economics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.
His brother Vineet Joshi, a 1992 batch IAS officer from the Manipur cadre, is currently secretary in the Department of Higher Education in the central government. Before this, he served as Manipur’s chief secretary, director-general of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is responsible for conducting entrance examinations in India, and chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) under the present administration.
Vineet Joshi studied mechanical engineering at IIT Kanpur and obtained a Master’s in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).
“Vivek Joshi, as well as his younger brother Vineet Joshi, are in the good books of the present BJP regime at the Centre,” said the senior IAS officer quoted above.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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