The resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel has come as a surprise to even officials in the Commission. While the reason for his sudden resignation is still unclear, there are speculations on whether there were indications of the development when the EC visited West Bengal last week to review the poll preparedness in the state.
Goel had travelled to Kolkata along with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on March 3 for a three-day visit to review the preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections. The Commission had held meetings with representatives of political parties and the Chief Electoral Officer, state government officials and police officials.
However, Goel was not present in the Commision's media briefing held in Kolkata on the culmination of the visit on March 5. Poor health was cited as a reason for his absence.
Trinamool Congress leaders have been prompt in claiming that Goel resigned due to his disagreement with the Commission's purported plans to hold elections in West Bengal in several phases and the "excessive" deployment of forces in the state for the upcoming polls.
Goel had been travelling to the states along with the CEC to review the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections, and the poll body was scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir next, the trip scheduled from March 11 onwards.
It is learnt that Goel has cited "personal reasons" for his resignation. There is a buzz on whether differences with the CEC could have led to Goel quitting the poll body, but there is no clarity on the exact nature of the disagreements.
It is unclear as to what could have triggered Goel's decision to quit the poll body when he was next in line to become the CEC and would have been in office till December 2027. A retired IAS officer belonging to the Punjab cadre, Goel was appointed as Election Commissioner on November 19, 2022. He had joined the office on November 21, 2022. Shortly before his appointment as EC, Goel had taken voluntary retirement from the post of Secretary, Heavy Industries.
His appointment as EC had its share of controversy since it had happened even as the Supreme Court was in the middle of hearing petitions about the process adopted by the government to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners. The court had later in its judgment on the issue remarked about the great speed with which the government had moved to appoint Goel.
