**Bhubaneswar:** Senior bureaucrat Surendra Kumar has been appointed as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Om Prakash Rawat appointed Kumar and issued an official notification in this regards today afternoon.
Kumar, a 1993 batch Odisha-cadre IAS officer, held dual charge of Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare and I & PR Departments, as the Principal Secretary. Kumar assumes the CEO’s charge from incumbent DN Gupta. While the State Government had proposed the names of three officers to the CEC, the selection of Kumar was tentative.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Secretary, VV Yadav and RDC northern division, DV Swami are the other officers whose names were recommended to the CEC. Kumar got an edge over the two for his seniority, to head the State Election Commission.