Rajiv Kumar, the former finance secretary, has been named the new chief election commissioner (CEC), according to law minister Kiren Rijiju. Sushil Chandra, who is retiring on May 15, will be replaced by him.

“The President is pleased to appoint Shri Rajiv Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner with effect from May 15, 2022, in accordance with clause (2) of Article 324 of the Constitution.” Rijiju expressed his best wishes to Shri Rajiv Kumar.

Chief election commissioners serve for six years or until they reach the age of 65, whichever comes first.

After election commissioner Ashok Lavasa stepped down, Kumar, a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, joined the Election Commission of India (ECI) in September 2020. During his term, he will be in charge of the elections in Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Last week, the delimitation exercise in J&K, which has been without an elected government since 2018, was completed, paving the way for elections.

Kumar’s term will coincide with the implementation of electoral reforms, such as multiple dates for voter registration and the voluntary linking of Aadhaar numbers to voter cards.

From September 2017 to February 2020, Kumar, who holds a master’s degree in public policy, was the finance secretary. He oversaw the financial services sector and was instrumental in implementing banking reforms, according to the ECI website. “Kumar had frozen bank accounts of 3.38 lakh shell companies used for creating fictitious equity as a starting point to curb the circulation of black money in a layered fashion.”

From 2015 to 2017, Kumar worked as an establishment officer in the personnel and training department. Kumar drafted the Scheduled Tribes (Reorganisation of Forests Rights) Bill, 2005, as director and joint secretary in the tribal affairs ministry.