Who are Sukhbir Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar, the new election commissioners?

The committee comprises the prime minister, a Union minister nominated by the PM, and Leader of the Opposition or the single largest Opposition party in Lok Sabha.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led high-level committee on March 14 picked retired IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as the Election Commissioners.

The vacancies were created after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and the surprise resignation of Arun Goel recently.

Who is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu?

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu was is a retired IAS officer of 1998 batch.  He served as the chief secretary of Uttarakhand. He was appointed the chief secretary when Pushkar Singh Dhami became the chief minister. in 2021.
Earlier, Sandhu served as the chairman of the National Highways Authority of India. He also served as additional secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. He did his MBBS from Government Medical College, Amritsar and also has a Master's Degree in History from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
He also has a law degree.  Sandhu has published papers on 'Urban Reforms' and 'Municipal Management and Capacity Building'. He was conferred President Medal in recognition of his services as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, Punjab.

Who  is Gyanesh Kumar?

Gyanesh Kumar is a retired 1988-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer. He served as secretary in the ministry of cooperation led by Amit Shah. Previously, he served as the secretary at the ministry of parliamentary affairs. Kumar retired from the services after his superannuation on January 31, 2024.