Former bureaucrat Arun Goel assumes charge as Election Commissioner

New Delhi, Nov 21: Former bureaucrat Arun Goel on Monday assumed charge of his new responsibility as an Election Commissioner. The poll panel said Goel assumed charge this morning.

A 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, Goel took voluntary retirement on November 18. He was on Saturday appointed as an Election Commissioner. He was to retire on December 31, 2022 after completing 60 years of age.

He has joined Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey on the poll panel. There was a vacancy in the EC following the retirement of Sushil Chandra as CEC in May this year.

Goel was, till recently, the heavy industries secretary. He has also served in the Union Culture ministry. His appointment comes days before Gujarat goes to two-phase polls on December one and five.

The poll panel will have its full strength when it decides the election schedule for Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Karnataka in the coming months.