Weeks before the Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commissioner Arun Goel has quit and his resignation has been accepted by the President.
The three-member Election Commission of India already had a vacancy and will now be left only with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.
In a landmark ruling in March last year, the Supreme Court had directed that Election Commissioners would be appointed by a panel consisting of
The Prime Minister,
The Leader of the Opposition and
The Chief Justice of India.
The bench also stated that the order would stay in force until a law was made by Parliament.
In December, the Parliament passed a Bill to replace the Chief Justice of India in the panel with a Union Cabinet minister.
The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, was passed by Parliament.