New Delhi (NVI): Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, who was next in line to head the poll panel, resigned today to join the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) as the post of vice-president.
He has submitted his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind and has requested to be relieved on August 31.
There is, however, no confirmation on whether the resignation has been accepted by the President or not.
Last month, the ADB appointed Lavasa as vice-president for Private Sector Operations and Public-Private Partnerships. He will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on August 31.
Ashok Lavasa is a retired 1980 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, appointed as Election Commissioner in January, 2018. He has now become the second election commissioner to step down from the poll panel before the completion of his term.
He had two years of tenure left in the ECI and would have retired in October 2022 after overseeing elections in various states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa.
-RJV
