OP Rawat appointed new Chief Election Commissioner, Ashok Lawasa made Election Commissioner

The appointment of the Election Commissioner was made as a vacancy would have arisen in the three-member poll panel after the retirement of Achal Kumar Jyoti on Monday.

NEW DELHI: Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat was appointed new Chief Election Commissioner while former finance secretary Ashok Lawasa was made Election Commissioner, the Law Ministry informed on Sunday. 

Rawat will take charge on January 23, said a report. He will replace Achal Kumar Jyoti, who retires on January 22.

Born on December 2, 1953, Rawat is a 1977 batch IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre. During his over the three-decade-long career, he served at various levels, both at state and Centre. Besides serving in Defence and Heavy Industries ministries, Rawat had also been Principal Secretary to then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babu Lal Gaur from 2004 and 2006.

On the other hand, Lavasa, a 1980-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, will fill the sole vacancy in the three-member ECI created with Rawat's appointment.

The appointment of the election commissioner was made as a vacancy would have arisen in the three-member poll panel after the retirement of Jyoti on Monday. Sunil Arora is the other Election Commissioner.

In May 2015, Achal Kumar Jyoti was appointed as Election Commissioner. A retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1975 batch, Jyoti has also served as Kandla Port Trust chairman. He will reportedly serve as Election Commissioner for a period of three years, following which he will demit office upon turning 65 years old.