Editorial illustration, not a photo from 2 October. Allegations are from the opposition and protesters. The Election Commission has denied manipulation. This is not legal advice.
Who is Gyanesh Kumar is the search that exploded after 2 October 2026. Slogans at Shivaji Park and Jantar Mantar used his name. Before the resignation demand, people want the file: batch, date, salary, tenure.
The career
Public profiles describe him as a 1988-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, a civil engineer from IIT Kanpur. Postings cited include District Collector of Ernakulam and Municipal Commissioner of Kochi, then Joint Secretary in Defence, Joint and Additional Secretary in Home, and Secretary in Parliamentary Affairs and Cooperation. He retired on 31 January 2024.
On 15 March 2024 he was appointed Election Commissioner, just before the 2024 Lok Sabha schedule. Reports also mention the gap left by Arun Goel’s resignation. On 19 February 2025 he became India’s 26th Chief Election Commissioner, after Rajiv Kumar.
Salary and tenure
The CEC’s salary is pegged to a Supreme Court judge under the 1991 conditions-of-service law. Public pages list a basic pay of ₹2,50,000 a month plus allowances. Pay revisions can change the figure. The term is six years or age 65, whichever is earlier. Reports say his term can run to 26 January 2029 if the age cap does not arrive first. As of 3 October 2026 he has not resigned.
How he was appointed
He is described as the first CEC chosen under the 2023 law that removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel and put a cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister in that seat. Rahul Gandhi opposed the appointment and asked for a deferral while the Supreme Court heard challenges. The law remains in force. The opposition says independence was weakened. The government says Parliament passed the law and the appointment is valid.
The storm
Career sketches mention administrative work linked to Article 370 and the Ram temple trust. That is not his Election Commission job. The storm is the Special Intensive Revision. Reports, including the BBC, put draft-roll deletions above 13 crore names, about 13 percent of the electorate. The Commission says the dead, the shifted and duplicates were removed. The opposition says poor, Dalit, Muslim and opposition voters were targeted. Read both. Neither is a verdict.
On 23 September 2026 The Indian Express reported that fellow commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded at least 14 objections in ten months. See the 14 objections and the 13 crore figure.
Why resignation is demanded
On 2 October the Cockroach Janta Party raised Gyanu Must Go at Shivaji Park. Opposition leaders were detained at Jantar Mantar. No resignation had come by the morning of 3 October. The next date being talked about is 10 October. Removal is not by slogan. It needs a parliamentary address. The process is here: how a CEC is removed.
एडवाइस:
Do not treat a social-media salary or a fake resignation post as a government order. A deleted name is restored through Form 6, not a slogan. This is a file, not a verdict.
Also read: the resignation demand and why he has not resigned.
More on the file
Profiles call him close to the Home Minister. That is political language, not a line in the appointment order. The record in public debate is that the Leader of the Opposition dissented and the appointment still went through.
The Commission has three members. The law says the division of work is by unanimous decision. The September 2026 report pressed that point. Sandhu and Joshi said orders went out without their knowledge. The Commission later called draft-stage questions normal. Neither commissioner has publicly resigned.
Do not guess the age. Retirement on 31 January 2024, Election Commissioner on 15 March 2024, CEC on 19 February 2025 are the firm dates. 26 January 2029 is a reported estimate.
What people ask
Has he resigned?
Not as of the morning of 3 October 2026.
What is the salary?
Pegged to a Supreme Court judge. Public pages list a basic ₹2,50,000 a month plus allowances.
Timeline readers will search
Gyanesh Kumar became Election Commissioner on 15 March 2024 and the 26th CEC on 19 February 2025. SIR began in Bihar and spread. On 23 September 2026 The Indian Express reported 14 objections by Sandhu and Joshi. On 24 September Rahul Gandhi used the treason line. On 2 October Delhi and Mumbai demanded resignation. No resignation had come by the morning of 3 October. The next street date is 10 October.
Both sides on Who is Gyanesh Kumar? Salary, tenure and the 26th CEC file
19 फरवरी 2025 को वे 26वें CEC बने। The opposition calls this part of a plan. The Commission says cleaning the roll is its job. No court had given a final word on this point by 3 October 2026. This article keeps the allegation and the denial together.
सैलरी सुप्रीम कोर्ट के जज के बराबर है, सार्वजनिक पन्ने बेसिक 2.5 लाख लिखते हैं। The opposition calls this part of a plan. The Commission says cleaning the roll is its job. No court had given a final word on this point by 3 October 2026. This article keeps the allegation and the denial together.
2023 के कानून में चयन समिति से मुख्य न्यायाधीश हटे। The opposition calls this part of a plan. The Commission says cleaning the roll is its job. No court had given a final word on this point by 3 October 2026. This article keeps the allegation and the denial together.
कार्यकाल छह साल या 65 वर्ष, खबरों में 26 जनवरी 2029 तक का आकलन है। The opposition calls this part of a plan. The Commission says cleaning the roll is its job. No court had given a final word on this point by 3 October 2026. This article keeps the allegation and the denial together.
Also read: detentions, Section 163.
