Senior Indian election official quits days ahead of vote date announcement

NEW DELHI: The second-highest official in India’s election commission resigned abruptly on Saturday, days ahead of the expected announcement of the date of the country’s upcoming general election.

The Ministry of Law and Justice said in a gazette notification that Indian President Droupadi Murmu had accepted the resignation of Arun Goel from his post as election commissioner, without citing a reason for his departure.

Goel did not immediately answer a call from Reuters, and a commission spokesperson said he did not know why Goel had resigned.

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Goel took over as election commissioner in November 2022. The commission is headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

India’s general election is due by May and opinion polls have predicted an easy win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which would give him a rare third straight term in office.