Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, who was next in line to head the poll panel, resigned on Tuesday. He will join the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) as vice-president in September. Lavasa, who would have retired as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in October 2022, would be the second election commissioner to step down from the poll panel before the completion of his term.
The last time an election commission put in his papers was in 1973 when CEC Nagendra Singh was appointed a judge in the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
Lavasa, a career bureaucrat, joined as Election Commissioner on January 23, 2018, and being senior most on the poll panel would have become CEC in April 2021 after the term of incumbent Sunil Arora ends. His exit puts his colleague Sushil Chandra next in the line of succession.
An MBA degree from Southern Cross University in Australia, and MPhil in Defense and Strategic Studies degree from the University of Madras, Lavasa, a 1980 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, retired as Finance Secretary.
As per the provisions of the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, an EC or the CEC can tender his or her resignation addressed to the President.
ADB appoints a vice-president for a term of three years, which can be extended by another two years. The ADB president heads a management team comprising six vice-presidents. “Lavasa has a long and distinguished career in the Indian civil service,” ADB had said in a statement in July citing his bureaucratic career.
“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 the private sector.” Lavasa led the Indian delegation in the climate change negotiations for the Paris Agreement and was instrumental in finalizing India’s nationally determined contributions, which included a major role of the private sector.