H S Brahma to be new CEC

Election commissioner HS Brahma will succeed VS Sampath, who retires on Thursday, as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India. The government has followed the convention of proposing the appointment of the senior-most Election Commissioner as the CEC. The proposal will be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for final approval. A retired IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre’s 1975 batch, Brahma hails from the state of Assam. He assumed charge as Election Commissioner on August 24, 2010, post his retirement from the position of Secretary in the Ministry of Power. After JM Lyndogh, 60 year-old Brahma will become the second officer from the NorthEast to be appointed to this post.