New Delhi: The central government has appointed Prakash Rajpurohit as the new Deputy Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India.
The 2010-batch IAS officer from the Rajasthan cadre was given the post till April 8, 2030. He succeeds Sanjay Kumar who was prematurely repatriated to his parent cadre in August this year. The post was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet in a wider bureaucratic reshuffle involving 27 officers being shifted to joint secretary-level and equivalent positions in various departments and institutions.
Rajpurohit is a non-attention-grabbing name, and that could well be his plus point. He is the type of administrator who gets things done without much hoopla. The son of a government school teacher, he did a B.E. (Electrical) from IIT Delhi before joining the IAS in 2010. He has been a good officer with rich field and secretariat experience.
He served in Rajasthan as Collector of Ajmer, which gave him a close exposure to the district administration, law and order and developmental administration. He was the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes before joining the Central Secretariat as Director in the Department of Economic Affairs where one of his assignments was to negotiate international investment treaties. In recent times he was the Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence Production in the Ministry of Defence. Those who have worked with him describe him as a competent and clean officer who gets on with his work without making too much noise or seeking attention.
The post of the Deputy Election Commissioner is a crucial one in the Election Commission as the three Election Commissioners constitute the decision-making body while the Deputy Election Commissioners assist them in day-to-day operations and administration. The vacancy had been lying vacant since Sanjay Kumar was transferred back to the Rajasthan cadre. Kumar, in his capacity as the Deputy Election Commissioner, was looking after the Electoral Rolls and IT Divisions which are the lifelines of the modern election management in India. These two divisions deal with the voter list management system and the IT infrastructure that supports the election process.
Rajpurohit’s appointment as the Deputy Election Commissioner coincides with the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which has invited some protests in certain states in the country. The special revision exercise seeks to regularise the electoral rolls by the Election Commission. The new Deputy Election Commissioner would be handling one of the more critical portfolios in the Election Commission.
With a tenure that stretches till April 8, 2030, it will give him opportunity to settle down and take charge of the various election process in the coming years. How the portfolio of the electoral rolls and IT systems would be placed under him will be interesting to watch out for. In the meanwhile, the new entrant to the Election Commission can be described as a competent officer with field and secretariat experience.
In a way this is a routine bureaucratic exercise wherein the Election Commission continues to look after the conduct of the free and fair elections in the country with the support of various officers. Prakash Rajpurohit has become the latest addition to the list of important functionaries in the Election Commission.
Sources: The Indian Express (11 Oct 2026), Business Standard/PTI (10 Oct 2026), Hindustan Times (10 Oct 2026), LiveMint (10 Oct 2026), Indian Masterminds, Current Affairs Adda247.
Prakash Rajpurohit has been appointed as the new Deputy Election Commissioner of India.
Key Details
- Name & Batch: Prakash Rajpurohit (2010-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre)
- Predecessor: Replaces Sanjay Kumar, who left via premature repatriation
- Tenure: Appointed until April 8, 2030
- Previous Role: Served as Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence Production
- Area of Responsibility: Oversees the Electoral Rolls and IT division in the Election Commission of India (ECI).
@Rohit Manral