Ex-Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey appointed Election Commissioner

New Delhi: The Union government on Tuesday appointed Anup Chandra Pandey, a retired IAS officer of the 1984 batch, Uttar Pradesh cadre, as Election Commissioner.

Pandey has been appointed to the position left vacant by former Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora’s retirement on April 12. This restores the three-member commission to its full strength, which will now oversee the next set of crucial assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand next year.

Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar are the other two members on the panel.

Before his retirement from the civil services in August 2019, Pandey had served as the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and also as the Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner of the state. He has a BTech degree in mechanical engineering, an MBA degree and a doctorate in ancient history.

In the Election Commission, Pandey will have a little under three years in office and will retire in February 2024.