EC Ashok Lavasa to Join Asian Development Bank as Vice President

Ashok Lavasa would have would retired as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in October 2022.

Ashok Lavasa will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on 31 August.

(Photo: PTI)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday, 15 July, said it has appointed sitting Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa as vice-president for private sector operations and public-private partnerships.

According to news agency PTI, Lavasa will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on 31 August.

"He is currently one of the Election Commissioners of India and previously served in a range of senior posts including as Union Finance Secretary of India; Union Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change; and Union Secretary for the Ministry of Civil Aviation," the Philippines-based ADB said in a statement.

Lavasa was appointed as an Election Commissioner in 2018 and would have would retired as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in October 2022. It is still not clear whether he has resigned from his post.

He made headlines during the 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 Model Code of Conduct during the polls. Soon after, his wife and son came under the scanner of the Income Tax department for alleged non-disclosure of income.

The term of an ADB vice-president is for three years and can be extended up to five years.

(With inputs from PTI)