Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned this evening weeks before the Lok Sabha polls. Mr Goel, the second-highest official in the Election Commission, cited "personal reasons" in his letter while resigning, sources told NDTV. The government tried to persuade him not to resign but he insisted, they said, adding the process of appointing other election commissioners will start soon.

Here are five facts about Arun Goel:

1. Arun Goel, a retired bureaucrat, was a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre.
2. He took over as Election Commissioner in November 2022. He had taken voluntary retirement on November 18 and was appointed Election Commissioner a day later. He took charge on November 21.
3. Mr Goel was in line to be the next Chief Election Commissioner after the end of incumbent Rajiv Kumar 's office in February 2025.
4. The 61-year-old's tenure was till December 2027.
5. Following the retirement of Anup Pandey in February and Mr Goel's resignation, the three-member Election Commission panel has now only Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.