2 min readNew DelhiAug 11, 2026 05:22 AM IST
THE MINISTRY of Home Affairs on Monday appointed 1998 batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer Gyanesh Bharti, who was serving as Deputy Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India, as Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, hours after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved his repatriation back to his cadre, less than a year after he was appointed as DEC.
Bharti was repatriated to his parent cadre “on the request of Ministry of Home Affairs with imposition of extended ‘cooling off’”, the ACC order said.
Bharti was appointed as DEC on August 25, 2025, with his tenure supposed to be till June 18, 2028. Prior to being appointed DEC, he was posted as Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development from June 2024 to August 2025, before which he was Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi from 2022 to 2024.
In the EC, Bharti had been the DEC in-charge of West Bengal during the Assembly elections earlier this year.
Bharti is the third DEC to be transferred out from the EC in the past year after serving about one year or less. Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer of 2002 batch Ajeet Kumar served as DEC from August 2024 to September 2025. AGMUT cadre IAS officer of 2000 batch Madhup Vyas served as DEC in the EC from March 2025 to September 2025.