Editor's Pick | ‘Differences’ with CEC may have led to Arun Goel’s resignation

The sudden resignation of Election Commissioner (EC) Arun Goel, a week before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election, came as a surprise to many, but insiders in the poll body have said that apparent differences emerged between Mr. Goel and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar during their visit to West Bengal to oversee poll preparations earlier this month. According to sources, Mr. Goel refused to attend the press conference in Kolkata to brief the media about the preparations in the State after his reported differences with Mr. Kumar. The CEC addressed the media alone on March 5. In the briefing, the CEC mentioned that Mr. Goel had returned to Delhi due to “health concerns”. However, sources close to Mr. Goel dismissed that and maintained that “he is in the pink of health”. Instead, they said “he flew back to Delhi cutting short his visit in West Bengal owing to some serious differences”. However, they did not elaborate what transpired between the two officials. After arriving in Delhi, Mr. Goel attended meetings related to the Lok Sabha election, with Mr. Kumar, at the EC headquarters on March 7. However, on March 8, he reportedly skipped a meeting between EC brass and Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla regarding the election preparations and instead sent his resignation to the President without informing the CEC. “There were attempts from the government to dissuade him and reconcile their differences but he remained firm on his exit,” officials said. His resignation was accepted by the President on March 9. Mr. Goel’s term in the Election Commission was due to last till November 2027. Reacting to Mr. Goel’s resignation, the Opposition asked whether he had stepped down due to differences with the CEC or to contest an election. “Did he actually resign over differences with the Chief Election Commissioner or with the Modi government, which does the front-seat driving for all supposedly independent institutions? Or did he resign for personal reasons? Or did he, like the Calcutta High Court Judge a few days back, resign to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket?” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. Meanwhile, the two vacancies in the EC, created by the surprise resignation of Mr. Goel and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey, are likely to be filled by March 15. A high-level selection committee, headed by PM Narendra Modi and comprising a Union Minister and Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, is likely to meet on March 14. The Hindu’s Editorials Not law, nor duty: On ‘safe military jobs’ and Indians in war zones Crisis of time: On parched Karnataka and its water woes The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which former President announced his new book on Wednesday? Gotabaya Rajapaksa Barack Obama Imran Khan Jair Bolsonaro To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 11 March 2024 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]Open in browser [Mail icon]More newsletters ‘Differences’ with CEC may have led to Arun Goel’s resignation The sudden [resignation of Election Commissioner (EC) Arun Goel]( a week before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election, came as a surprise to many, but insiders in the poll body have said that [apparent differences emerged between Mr. Goel and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar]( during their visit to West Bengal to oversee poll preparations earlier this month. According to sources, Mr. Goel refused to attend the press conference in Kolkata to brief the media about the preparations in the State after his reported differences with Mr. Kumar. The [CEC addressed the media alone on March 5.]( In the briefing, the CEC mentioned that Mr. Goel had returned to Delhi due to “health concerns”. However, sources close to Mr. Goel dismissed that and maintained that “he is in the pink of health”. Instead, they said “he flew back to Delhi cutting short his visit in West Bengal owing to some serious differences”. However, they did not elaborate what transpired between the two officials. After arriving in Delhi, Mr. Goel attended meetings related to the Lok Sabha election, with Mr. Kumar, at the EC headquarters on March 7. However, on March 8, he reportedly skipped a meeting between EC brass and Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla regarding the election preparations and instead sent his resignation to the President without informing the CEC. “There were attempts from the government to dissuade him and reconcile their differences but he remained firm on his exit,” officials said. His resignation was accepted by the President on March 9. Mr. Goel’s term in the Election Commission was due to last till November 2027. [Reacting to Mr. Goel’s resignation]( the [Opposition asked whether he had stepped down due to differences with the CEC or to contest an election.]( “Did he actually resign over differences with the Chief Election Commissioner or with the Modi government, which does the front-seat driving for all supposedly independent institutions? Or did he resign for personal reasons? Or did he, like the Calcutta High Court Judge a few days back, resign to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket?” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. Meanwhile, the two vacancies in the EC, created by the surprise resignation of Mr. Goel and the[retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey]( [are likely to be filled by March 15.]( A high-level selection committee, headed by PM Narendra Modi and comprising a Union Minister and Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, is likely to meet on March 14. 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