How Mr Gyanesh Kumar Was Appointed The Chief Election Commissioner? “He was not even found fit for the Additional Secretary panel. Later he was also found unfit for the Secretary panel.” In a wide-ranging interview with me for the London Vārta podcast, former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi turns his attention to the man currently under fire from the opposition in India: Gyanesh Kumar, the serving CEC. So how did he get the job? Mr Quraishi does not mince his words. He says: “What is known about this gentleman is that he was very close to Amit Shah. Extremely close—he worked under him in the Home Ministry. He was one of the architects of the removal of Article 370 in Kashmir… Besides that, when the Ram Mandir Trust was being formed, he was the one who set it up.” “According to reports, he was not even found fit for the Additional Secretary panel. Later he was also found unfit for the Secretary panel. But because he had worked so closely with Amit Shah… pressure was applied… and he was made Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation, of which Amit Shah was the minister.” On the formal selection process itself: “In 2023, the selection of the Chief Election Commissioner had to be made… under the new Act the government called three people to consider the names. One was Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He nominated Amit Shah—the person closest to him, his companion—and the Leader of the Opposition. And Gyanesh Kumar was selected.” The full conversation, covering the Election Commission, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and much more, is on the London Vārta podcast. #cineinkpodcast #LondonVārta #syquraishi #GyaneshKumar #ElectionCommission