Retired IAS officer and former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh Neelam Sawhney has decided to take over as the new state election commissioner, instead of continuing as the principal advisor to the chief minister.
Sawhney submitted her resignation from the principal advisor post to chief secretary Adityanath Das on Friday night itself, hours after the Governor approved her name as the new SEC, in place of retired IAS officer Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, who will be stepping down as SEC on March 31.
On Saturday, the chief secretary accepted Neelam Sawhney’s resignation and appreciated her services as the principal advisor to CM, looking after the implementation of Navaratnaalu, the visionary programme of the Jagan government.
According to CMO sources, Sawhney will take over as the new SEC on April 1 and set in motion the process for the completion of MPTC and ZPTC elections immediately.
Incidentally, Sawhney has gained two credits for herself. She was the first woman chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation.
She will now also become the first women state election commissioner in the residuary AP, a Constitutional post.
