Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra recently took over as the new Chief Election Commissioner of India.
About Sushil Chandra
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Sushil Chandra was appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind.
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He was appointed as the Election Commissioner along with Ashok Lavasa and Arora in 2019.
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He will oversee the completion of the ongoing assembly elections.
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His term will end in 2022. Before that assembly elections will be held in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur, and Uttarakhand.
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Earlier he had served as the Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
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In 2017, he launched “Operation Clean Money” to curb illegal wealth and black money in the country.
Constitutional Provisions
Article 324 of the Constitution provides the provisions of Chief Election Commissioner. The provisions under the article are as follows:
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Article 324 provides powers to the Chief Election Commissioner to control and direct elections to the state legislature, parliament and to the offices of President and Vice President of the country.
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The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election commissioners shall be appointed by the President of India.
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It also says that, the Chief Election Commissioner shall be removed from office only on the like grounds of the Supreme Court Judge.
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The State Election commissioner shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Election Commissioner.
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The staff requested by the Election Commission to discharge its functions shall be provided by the Governor of the state and by the President of India.
Election Commissioner Amendment Act
The Election Commissioner Amendment Act, 1989 made the Election Commission a multi-member body. Under the act, two additional election commissioners were appointed to the Election Commission. However, the decision of the Chief Election Commissioner is final.