Goel’s resignation is latest in a series of red flags for Election Commission under Modi

With the general elections just weeks away, the Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned from his position on Saturday. The Election Commission now has just one office bearer, the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, as another Election Commissioner, Anup Chandra Pandey, had completed his tenure in February.

This means that the Centre will have to fill two vacancies in the poll body ahead of the elections.

That reasons for Goel's sudden resignation are not known adds to concerns over transparency and independence in the functioning of the Election Commission under the Narendra Modi administration. Especially when considering the fact that a law passed by Parliament in December now allows the government to control appointments.

What happens next?

A meeting of a panel, headed by Modi, to pick election commissioners is expected be held on March 14 or March 15, The Indian Express reported on Sunday. The Modi-led selection committee was formulated under the law passed in December.

The committee consists of the prime minister (as chairperson), the leader of the Opposition or the single-largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha and a Union cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister. The Cabinet minister, who will be part of the committee, has not been named yet. But the composition of the committee means that Modi and his...

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