Ashok Lavasa Resigns as Election Commissioner, to Join ADB Next Month

According to reports, he has submitted his papers to President Ram Nath Kovind, requesting to be relieved end of this month.

New Delhi: Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, next in line to head the poll commission, on Tuesday resigned from his post to join as the Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to reports, he has submitted his papers to President Ram Nath Kovind, requesting to be relieved end of this month. However, it is not confirmed whether the resignation has been accepted.

Meanwhile, the ADB had announced Lavasa’s appointment on July 15 in a press statement. Lavasa will replace outgoing vice-president Diwakar Gupta who completes his term on August 31.

Ashok Lavasa had come under the spotlight last year after his demand to record dissent in the Election Commission’s model code orders after complaints that the EC gave clean chits to Prime Minister Modi and BJP president Shah in their speeches during the election campaign.

The Election Commission, however, turned down the demand ruling that dissent and minority views from within the poll body would not be recorded in its final orders. Lavasa had subsequently recused himself from cases relating to violations of the MCC.

Lavasa, 62, still had more than two years of his term left at the Election Commission of India. Lavasa was to become India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after the retirement of incumbent CEC Sunil Arora in 2021.

He has now become the second Election Commissioner to step down from the poll panel before the completion of the term. He has previously held a range of senior posts, including Finance Secretary, Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and Civil Aviation Secretary.