New Delhi, Feb. 18 -- Gyanesh Kumar, a Kerala cadre IAS officer from the 1988 batch who retired as the secretary of the ministry of cooperation before being appointed as an election commissioner last year, was appointed as India's next chief election commissioner by President Droupadi Murmu in a late-night announcement on Monday.

The announcement came hours after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led selection committee proposed his name as the top poll official.

The selection, however, was not a smooth affair as Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, a member of the selection panel, objected to the timing of the meeting as a case related to the constitution of the panel will be heard by the SC on Wednesday.

The appointment came hours a...