Mr. Ashok Lavasa, who was in line to become the next Chief election Commisioner (CEC), has abruptly put down his papers to join Asian Development Bank (ADB) as Vice President.

Lavasa has submitted his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind and has requested to be relieved on August 31. However, it is not yet confirmed if his resignation is accepted by the President.

Lavasa has over two years left to complete his term as the Election Commissioner. He would have retired as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in October 2022. This is the second time in the annals of history that any election commissioner has resigned before his/her due term. Such instance was witnessed in 1973, when the then Chief Election Commissioner Nagender Singh, had resigned before completing his term at the Election Commission to join International Court of Justice (ICJ) .

On the other hand, ADB announced Lavasa’s appointment on July 15. “He (Lavasa) has extensive experience in public-private partnerships and infrastructure development at the state and federal levels, with deep knowledge on public policy and the role of the private sector,” last month’s press statement had said.

As CEC, he would have conducted forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa, among other states. His early exit would pave way for his colleague Sushil Chandra to be next Election Commissioner.

Lavasa was in the news soon after 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when he opposed the clean chit given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former BJP president Amit Shah on charges of violating the Code of Conduct norms during the elections. His family had come under the scanner of the Income Tax Department for alleged non-declaration of income and disproportionate assets.

Lavasa took over as Election Commissioner on January 23, 2018. He is a retired IAS officer of the Haryana cadre. He has also served as Finance Secretary, environment and civil aviation secretary. He was also joint secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs in 2001-02, where he looked after matters pertaining to ADB.