Former Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Anup Chandra Pandey has been decreed as the Election Commissioner of India by the President of India under clause (2) of Article 324 of the Constitution with effect from the date he assumes office. He will oversee the next set of crucial assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur, and Uttarakhand next year.
Anup Chandra Pandey would join the top executive body of the Election Commission of India which contains three people namely, now Mr. Pandey himself, joined by Sushil Chandra (Chief Election Commissioner) and Rajiv Kumar (Election Commissioner). All three election commissioners hold office for a period of six years or up to the age of 65.
The Election Commission of India is a permanent and independent body at the all-India level (serving both the center and the state) established by the Constitution of India directly to ensure free and fair elections in the country. Article 324 of the Constitution directly provides that the power of superintendence, direction, and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of the president of India, and the office of vice-president of India shall be vested in the election commission. Thus, the Election Commission is an all-India body in the sense that it is common and focal to both the Central government and the state governments in announcing the date of the election for the assembly election and many other related tasks.
Anup Chandra Pandey has served as an IAS officer and belongs to the 1984-batch. He has also served as additional secretary in the Ministry of Defence and joint secretary in the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment. He is also a Ph.D. in ancient history, a degree holder in B Tech, and an MBA. He has held the post of joint secretary directly under CM Yogiadityanath in UP’s basic education, health, and family welfare and food departments. Between the years 2003 and 2004, he has also served as the Director of the Department of Health, MoHFW.
