Who is Arun Goel, the election commissioner, who resigned ahead of Lok Sabha polls?

Credits: ANI

Just days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll schedule, election commissioner Arun Goel on March 9 resigned from his post. The sudden resignation comes at a time when the poll panel, led by chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar, is travelling across states to review poll preparedness for the upcoming general election. The resignation has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with effect from Saturday.

Notably, the three-member commission is now left with only CEC Kumar. Election Commissioner Anup Pandey had retired in February.

The reason for Goel's resignation was not immediately known. His  tenure was originally slated to continue till December 2027.

Goel was born on December 7, 1962, in Patiala. He is a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. According to reports, Goel completed his post-graduation in Development Economics from Churchill College, University of Cambridge, England. He has also been trained at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA.

According to a report by Indian Express, Goel “is an outdoor person and an avid traveller, fond of skydiving, scuba diving, white-water rafting and mountain zipping".

President accepts the resignation tendered by Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 9th March 2024: Ministry of Law & Justice pic.twitter.com/88tuyXm4uP

— ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024

As Union Heavy Industries Secretary, Goel was involved with the e-vehicle policy and production-linked incentive scheme for the auto industry. He is also known for catalysing the E-vehicle movement in India.

During his stint in the Punjab government, he worked on the master plan of New Chandigarh. He unbundled the electricity board into corporations and introduced an e-tendering system. He also oversaw the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections during his postings in Ludhiana and Bhatinda.

Goel was also part of the committee that suggested using Remote Voting Machines for migrant voters to cast their votes. When January 25 was marked as National Voters’ Day, Goel said representatives from developed countries were interested in learning from India after seeing the usage of EVMs in such large numbers.

Notably, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) challenged Goel's appointment in the Supreme Court. It argued that the appointment was "arbitrary and violative of the institutional integrity and independence of the Election Commission". The apex court had dismissed the PIL.