Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the Bijepur bypoll, Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat has appointed Surendra Kumar as the new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha. An official notification was issued in this regard today.
Kumar, a 1993 batch IAS officer, replaced DN Gupta as the CEO of Odisha.
Currently Kumar is holding the position of Principal Secretary to the SC & ST Welfare department. He also holds the office of the Principal Secretary of Information and Public Relations department.
The CEC had earlier asked the State government to suggest three names for the CEO post.
Besides Kumar, names of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Secretary Vir Vikram Yadav and RDC northern division DV Swami were suggested by the State government to the CEC.