New Delhi: Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Friday assumed charge as election commissioners in the Election Commission of India.

“Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar welcomed the newly appointed Election Commissioner’s at Nirvachan Sadan to the action packed and intense twelve weeks ahead,” the Election Commission of India (ECI) said in a statement.

Chief EC Rajiv Kumar with new ECs Gyanesh Kumar & Sukhbir Singh Sandhu (Image: PIB)

"He emphasized the significance of their joining at this historic point, when team ECI is all set to conduct the General Elections 2024 in the world's largest democracy," read the statement.

A notification regarding the appointment of the Election Commissioners was published in the Gazette on March 14, 2024.

Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu are officers from the 1988 batch of the Indian Administrative Service who belonged to the Kerala and Uttarakhand cadre respectively, the ECI said.

These positions fell vacant due to the resignation of Arun Goel and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February, leaving Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the only member of the election body.

Post the appointment of two election commissioners, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said Friday that it will announce the dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections at 3 pm on Saturday.