SaralnamaGyanesh Kumar took charge as India’s 26th Chief Election Commissioner on 19 Feb 2025. A 1988-batch IAS officer from Kerala, he was appointed after the new 2023 law changed the selection process. Before this, he served as Election Commissioner from March 2024 and worked in key government roles, including in Jammu and Kashmir and the Ministry of Cooperation. Kumar introduced strict attendance rules and transferred several Chief Electoral Officers. His first major election as CEC is the Bihar polls, where a Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls caused controversy with 65 lakh names removed. Opposition parties allege vote suppression, but the Election Commission says the draft list can be corrected. Kumar also engages with political parties and uses social media to address election concerns. He recently represented India at an international electoral conference in Sweden, promoting voter participation and election integrity. (Updated 28 Aug 2025, 14:55 IST; source: link)