New Delhi: Achal Kumar Joti was on Tuesday appointed the 21st Chief Election Commissioner of India. He will take over from Mr Nasim Zaidi on Thursday.

Mr Joti, a 1975-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is a former chief secretary of Gujarat. He was serving as the chief secretary when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister in the state. He retired as the Gujarat chief secretary in January 2013.

A notification issued by the Law Ministry said Mr Joti will take over as the CEC on July 6. He will serve till January 17 next year. Mr Joti (64) had joined the three-member poll panel as an election commissioner on May 8, 2015.

 He has also served as the Gujarat vigilance commissioner and worked in various capacities in the state, including chairman of the Kandla Port Trust and the managing director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. He was also the secretary in the industry, revenue and water supply departments in the state. According to Election Commission rules, a Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner can have a tenure of six years or hold office till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Another Election Commissioner is likely to be appointed soon in order to fill the vacancy that will be created by Zaidi’s retirement. Om Prakash Rawat is the other election commissioner in the poll panel.