Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), July 23: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed 2001-batch IAS officer R Santhanagopalan as the new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, effective Tuesday. He will succeed Nikunj Bihari Dhal, who was recently appointed as Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi.
According to the official notification, Santhanagopalan was selected from a panel of three IAS officers proposed by the Additional Chief Secretary on July 18. He has been instructed to assume his duties immediately and submit a compliance report within a week.
Prior to this appointment, Santhanagopalan served as Secretary of the Labour and ESI Department, returning from central deputation in 2022.
