Gyanesh Kumar took charge as the new Chief Election Commissioner on Wednesday morning, succeeding Rajiv Kumar. Over his four-year tenure, he will be responsible for overseeing nearly two dozen elections, including state and presidential polls.

A former IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, Kumar previously served in the Home Ministry under the leadership of Amit Shah. Notably, he played a key role in drafting the bill that led to the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr. Kumar's appointment, officially notified late last night, comes amid controversy, as Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have raised objections to his nomination. Gandhi, a member of the three-member panel responsible for selecting the new CEC, submitted a dissent note opposing Kumar’s appointment.

His objection comes despite an ongoing challenge in the Supreme Court regarding the constitution of the selection panel itself.

The Supreme Court is set to hear these arguments later today. The core contention revolves around the composition of the selection committee, which currently includes the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the PM, and the Leader of the Opposition.

Critics argue that this structure favors the ruling party, potentially compromising the Election Commission’s neutrality.

On Tuesday Mr Gandhi posted a sharp attack on X, in which he slammed the centre's "midnight decision" to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the next CEC, calling his nomination a 'violation of the Supreme Court order (by) removing the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee".

"During the meeting of the committee to select the next (Chief) Election Commissioner, I presented a dissent note to the PM and HM that stated: 'The most fundamental aspect of an independent Election Commission... free from executive interference... is the process of choosing the Election Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner," Mr Gandhi had said.

"By violating the Supreme Court order and removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee, the Modi government has exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process," Mr Gandhi said on X.

The objection refers to a previous Supreme Court order that mandated the selection committee should comprise the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India. However, to bypass this ruling, the central government later fast-tracked a bill that replaced the Chief Justice with a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister.