Ashok Lavasa resigns as Election Commissioner, to join ADB

Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has resigned to join the multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB), according to reports. He will reportedly be assuming the position of vice president at the bank.

Lavasa was next in line to head the poll panel and would have retired as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in October 2022.

"He is currently one of the Election Commissioners of India and previously served in a range of senior posts including as Union Finance Secretary of India; Union Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change; and Union Secretary for the Ministry of Civil Aviation," ADB said in a statement last month.

He has extensive experience in public-private partnerships and infrastructure development at the state and federal levels, with deep knowledge on public policy and the role of private sector, it said.

The agency further said that Lavasa led the Indian delegation in the climate change negotiations for the Paris Agreement and was instrumental in finalising India's nationally determined contributions, which included a major role of the private sector.

"At both policy and project levels, he made significant contributions to the inclusion of the private sector in many development programs in India for different sectors such as energy, agriculture, finance, and infrastructure. As Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, he worked closely with many ADB projects that had private sector components," it had said.

Lavasa has an MBA degree from Southern Cross University in Australia, and MPhil in Defense and Strategic Studies degree from the University of Madras.

He completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree with English Honors and a Master of Arts in English Literature from Delhi University.

Lavasa had hit the headlines during the 2019 Lok Sabha election when reports suggested that he had dissented in about 11 decisions of the Election Commission (EC).

These were involving complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah for alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct.