With General Elections Looming, What's Next for the Commission

New Delhi. With the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections looming, Election Commissioner Arun Goyal has suddenly resigned.

His resignation comes at a time when the Election Commission was touring the country to review election preparations, and the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule was expected in a few days.

On March 8, the Election Commission held meetings with top officials from the Home Ministry and railway authorities for the deployment of security personnel and logistics across India for parliamentary elections. With Arun Goyal's resignation, only Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar remains in the three-member Election Commission. After Election Commissioner Anoop Chandra Pandey retired last month, there was already a vacant seat in the Election Commission.

In this situation, the primary responsibility of conducting elections has fallen on Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar's shoulders, which is also quite challenging for him.

What is the Process

Currently, the Election Commission consists of one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. However, since its formation in 1950 until October 15, 1989, it was a single-member body, including the Chief Election Commissioner. From October 16, 1989, to January 1, 1990, it became a three-member body. However, from January 2, 1990, to September 30, 1993, it again became a single-member body. Then, from October 1, 1993, it became a three-member body again.

There is no law that mandates a full Commission for elections. In the past, there have been instances where only two members remained in the three-member Commission, and they conducted the elections.