PM Modi-led panel meets to finalise name of next Chief Election Commissioner

Committee led by PM Modi selects new Chief Election Commissioner amid Congress objections over appointment process and new law.

A three-member committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in New Delhi on Monday (February 17, 2025) to pick the new Chief Election Commissioner of India even as the Congress party asked the government to “adjourn” the meeting until after the Feb 19 Supreme Court hearing on the challenge to the new law under which the appointment would be made.

It is understood that the name of the new CEC has been finalised. Congress sources, however, said that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who is part of the committee, left the meeting after submitting his objections in writing. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is the third member of the committee.

Officially at a press conference after the meeting, the Congress party said the new law under which the committee has been constituted creates a “partisan” and “non-neutral” mechanism for the selection of Election Commissioners.

The party also asked the government to file an early hearing and early disposal application in the Apex court in the matter.

“At the outset, we cannot ignore that this Committee is in clear and direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Judgement of March 2, 2023 where a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Anoop Baranwal vs. Union of India declared that the CEC and the EC’s should be appointed by a Committee comprising of the PM, the LOP and the CJI,” Chairperson of Congress’ Law, Human Rights and RTI Department Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

However, while maintaining that the Leader of Opposition participated in the meeting Mr Singhvi said: “what he said, what happened, what he discussed etc is not for me or you to speculate upon. We can’t say anything. What happened you will come to know in the next 24-48 hours”.

Congress General Secretary Ajay Maken who was also present at the press conference said “we cannot say more. We have our stand forward. What happened and all in a secret meeting, we cannot say we respect secrecy”.