The Crossbill Team
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has carried out around 18–20 transfers of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) across states and Union Territories between 2025 and 2026, coinciding with its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, according to a report by The Economic Times.
The scale of the reshuffle has raised questions about administrative continuity, particularly as the poll body undertakes a major revision of electoral rolls.
The transfers have taken place since Gyanesh Kumar assumed charge as Chief Election Commissioner in February 2025. The changes have extended beyond state-level electoral officials to include senior officers within the commission, including Deputy Election Commissioners (DECs).
According to the report, eight to nine states and Union Territories saw changes in their CEOs during 2025, followed by at least 10 further transfers in 2026. This is notable given the ECI’s convention of retaining CEOs for a minimum of three years to maintain continuity. At least seven of the transferred officers, however, had spent fewer than two years in their respective posts.
The reshuffle began in Bihar in April 2025, ahead of the state’s SIR exercise, and subsequently extended to Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Manipur and Ladakh, among other regions. In 2026, changes were also reported in Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Sikkim and Chandigarh.
Lakshadweep witnessed particularly frequent changes, with three different CEOs appointed between November 2025 and October 2026. Following Assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala, the outgoing CEOs were also moved to other senior government positions.
The ECI’s senior administrative ranks have seen changes as well. Bhanu Prakash Yeturu was appointed Deputy Election Commissioner in May 2025, followed by Pawan Kumar Sharma in September that year. Prakash Rajpurohit took up the position in October 2026 after Sanjay Kumar was repatriated in August.
The frequency of transfers under Kumar’s tenure can be compared with changes during the terms of his predecessors. Former Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar oversaw around 23 CEO transfers during his 33-month tenure from May 2022 to February 2025, which included the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
During the combined 41-month tenure of former Chief Election Commissioners Sunil Arora and Sushil Chandra, around 29 CEO transfers took place, also during a period that included a general election, The Economic Times reported.
The latest reshuffle, spanning nearly 20 months and overlapping with the SIR exercise in several states, marks a substantial period of administrative change within the election machinery.
The scale of the reshuffle has raised questions about administrative continuity, particularly as the poll body undertakes a major revision of electoral rolls.
The transfers have taken place since Gyanesh Kumar assumed charge as Chief Election Commissioner in February 2025. The changes have extended beyond state-level electoral officials to include senior officers within the commission, including Deputy Election Commissioners (DECs).
According to the report, eight to nine states and Union Territories saw changes in their CEOs during 2025, followed by at least 10 further transfers in 2026. This is notable given the ECI’s convention of retaining CEOs for a minimum of three years to maintain continuity. At least seven of the transferred officers, however, had spent fewer than two years in their respective posts.
The reshuffle began in Bihar in April 2025, ahead of the state’s SIR exercise, and subsequently extended to Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Manipur and Ladakh, among other regions. In 2026, changes were also reported in Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Sikkim and Chandigarh.
Lakshadweep witnessed particularly frequent changes, with three different CEOs appointed between November 2025 and October 2026. Following Assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala, the outgoing CEOs were also moved to other senior government positions.
The ECI’s senior administrative ranks have seen changes as well. Bhanu Prakash Yeturu was appointed Deputy Election Commissioner in May 2025, followed by Pawan Kumar Sharma in September that year. Prakash Rajpurohit took up the position in October 2026 after Sanjay Kumar was repatriated in August.
The frequency of transfers under Kumar’s tenure can be compared with changes during the terms of his predecessors. Former Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar oversaw around 23 CEO transfers during his 33-month tenure from May 2022 to February 2025, which included the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
During the combined 41-month tenure of former Chief Election Commissioners Sunil Arora and Sushil Chandra, around 29 CEO transfers took place, also during a period that included a general election, The Economic Times reported.
The latest reshuffle, spanning nearly 20 months and overlapping with the SIR exercise in several states, marks a substantial period of administrative change within the election machinery.
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