TN chief electoral officer Sandeep Saxena appointed deputy election commissioner

CHENNAI: A year after his appointment as Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer, the Election Commission on Monday named Sandeep Saxena as deputy election commissioner.
Saxena, a 1989 batch IAS officer from Tamil Nadu, has been appointed as deputy election commissioner for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge or until further orders, according to release from Union cabinet’s appointment committee.He replaces incumbent R Balakrishnan and will work from New Delhi.
“The Election Commission has to write to the state government seeking to relieve me. I will join the Election Commission immediately after I am relieved by the state government,” Saxena told TOI.
Saxena was appointed as CEO on October 27 last year after Praveenkumar was transferred to New Delhi. During his tenure, Saxena did not conduct any assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
However, he conducted two byelections -- in Srirangam in February, which was held after chief minister J Jayalalithaa was convicted in the disproportionate assets, and in R K Nagar, which was held after her acquittal in the case.
The transfer of Saxena comes just six months before the assembly elections in the state. The state will now get a new CEO.