Senior IAS official and senior-most Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Sunday took charge as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), a day after Om Prakash Rawat demitted office.
President Ram Nath Kovind on November 27 appointed Arora in the post. He will have a nearly two-and-a-half-year tenure as CEC and he will oversee the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Arora was appointed as Election Commissioner in September 2017.
He has served in several key positions as a bureaucrat, including as Information and Broadcasting Secretary, Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Airlines.
"Sunil Arora assumes charge as the new Chief Election Commissioner of India. He solicits cooperation from all stakeholders - political parties, media, civil society organisations and people at large in making our elections totally free, fair, peaceful, accessible and ethical," EC spokersperson Sheyphali Sharan tweeted.
--IANS
rak/mr