Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa resigned from the poll body, reports said on Tuesday, as he prepares to take up a role at Asian Development Bank. The Asian Development Bank had announced last month that Lavasa had been appointed as a vice-president for private sector operations and public-private partnerships.
Lavasa would be replacing veteran banker Diwakar Gupta, whose term at the ADB will end on August 31.
Lavasa had been appointed to the Election Commission in 2018 and had two years left in his tenure. He was the senior-most Election Commissioner after Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.
In a press release on Lavasa's appointment, the ADB noted, "Lavasa led the Indian delegation in the climate change negotiations for the Paris Agreement and was instrumental in finalising India’s nationally determined contributions, which included a major role of the private sector. At both policy and project levels, he made significant contributions to the inclusion of the private sector in many development programs in India for different sectors such as energy, agriculture, finance, and infrastructure. As Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, he worked closely with many ADB projects that had private sector components."
Lavasa had made headlines last year when he dissented with Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioner Satish Chandra on the issue of complaints against senior BJP leaders in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. By a 2:1 majority, the Election Commission had said there was no substance in the complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over speeches he made during poll campaigning. Lavasa, reportedly, skipped Election Commission meetings to protest against his dissent notes not being recorded.
