Newly-appointed Chief Election Commissioner Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath today assumed
charge of office at the poll panel’s headquarters here.
Mr Sampath is the 18th Chief Election Commissioner. A 1973 batch IAS officer, the 62-year-old Sampath took
over from S Y Quraishi whose term came to an end yesterday.
Mr Sampath, who was appointed as the CEC last week, will preside over the next Lok Sabha Elections in 2014.
A low-profile bureaucrat, who has had stints in various capacities in Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, Mr Sampath was Power Secretary at the Centre before he was appointed Election Commissioner in April, 2009.
Born on January 16, 1950, Mr Sampath will be at the helm of the Commission till January, 2015 when he would turn 65. Under the Constitution, an EC or the CEC can remain in office either for a six-year term or till 65 years, whichever is earlier.
After Mr Sampath’s appointment, the government will soon be naming his replacement as Election Commissioner.
–Agencies