Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned on Saturday, days before the expected announcement of the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

His tenure was till December 2027.

According to a law ministry notification, Goel's resignation has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with effect from Saturday. It was not immediately known why he stepped down.

“In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 09th March, 2024,” a gazette notification by the Union Law and Justice Ministry said on Saturday, reports Indian Express.

Goel stepping down has occurred at a moment when the Commission, originally consisting of three members, was already operating with just two following the departure of Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey in February. Following the acceptance of Goel's resignation, the electoral body is now left with only the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, on its panel.

Goel, a retired bureaucrat, was a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He had joined the Election Commission in November 2022. His transition into this position stirred debate, given that he was acting as the Union Heavy Industries Secretary and took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Services on November 18, 2022. Merely a day after his retirement, he was appointed to the Commission, fueling controversy around his rapid move from a government role to a significant electoral position.

Following the retirement of Anup Pandey in February and Goel's resignation, the three-member EC panel has now only Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.