Achal Kumar Joti who served as Chief Secretary of Gujarat under then Modi govt appointed as new CEC

Achal Kumar Joti, who had served as Chief Secretary of Gujarat when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) succeeding Nasim Zaidi.

Joti will succeed Nasim Zaidi and take over as the head of the Election Commission on July 6, a notification issued by the law ministry said. Zaidi will demit office on Wednesday.

Joti, a 1975-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, had joined the three-member poll panel as an election commissioner on May 8, 2015, and would be in office until January 17 next year.

He retired as the Gujarat chief secretary in January 2013.

A CEC or an EC can have a tenure of six years or hold office till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Read the biggest controversy under former Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi

Joti, who will be the 21^st CEC, has also served as the Gujarat vigilance commissioner and worked in various capacities in the state, including as the chairman of the Kandla Port Trust between 1999 and 2004 and the managing director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL).

He was also the secretary in the industry, revenue and water supply departments in the state.

The government is also soon expected to appoint one more Election Commissioner to fill up the vacancy caused by Zaidi’s retirement.

Om Prakash Rawat is the other election commissioner in the poll panel. 

(With PTI Inputs)