In 2021, when the world was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Kumar as election commissioner had drafted an affidavit, saying the courts may punish him if he was in the wrong but they should absolve the EC of doubts.The affidavit planned to be filed before the Madras High Court, and later the Supreme Court, could not be submitted.He wanted to respond to an observation by the Madras HC that the EC was singularly responsible for Covid surge in Tamil Nadu by holding assembly polls amid the pandemic.Kumar had also been vocally critical of the way exit polls are held and how news channels show trends during early period of counting of votes.He had dubbed the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels as “nonsense”.Kumar also said exit polls create a huge distraction by raising expectations and it was a matter for self-introspection for the media, particularly electronic media.”We do not govern exit polls, but there is a need for self-introspection. What was the sample size, where was the survey done, how did the result come and what is my responsibility if I did not match to that result, are there disclosures, all of these need to be seen,” Kumar said recently.Prior to assuming charge in the Election Commission, Kumar had been chairman, Public Enterprises Selection Board during April-August 2020.He was the Union Finance Secretary from July 2019 to February 2020, and Secretary, Financial Services from September 2017 to July 2019 and Establishment Officer from March 2015 to June 2017.An officer of the Indian Administrative Service of Bihar/Jharkhand cadre of the 1984 batch, he superannuated in February 2020 from government service.During his tenure as CEC, Kumar carried out delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies of Assam.Through consensus, consultation, and active participation, Kumar along with fellow Commissioners, brought together various stakeholders with conflicting viewpoints and interests to the same table, fostering an inclusive, participative and representative approach towards redefining electoral boundaries.
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