Dinesh Waghmare appointed state election commissioner
Dinesh Waghmare appointed as new state election commissioner, filling a vacant post ahead of local body polls, with a five-year term ahead.
Mumbai: The state government has cleared the appointment of Dinesh Waghmare, currently posted as additional chief secretary (medical education), as the new state election commissioner (SEC). The post was lying vacant since UPS Madan retired last year. With local body polls likely to be held within the next few months, Waghmare will have a tough job at hand, said officials.

Waghmare, a 1994 batch IAS officer, was due to retire in June this year. He will now resign from his current post and join as state election commissioner for five years, as per the appointment order.
The state election commission holds elections to municipal corporations, councils and district bodies such as zilla parishads and gram panchayats. A majority of these local bodies are expected to go to polls this year and the ruling Mahayuti alliance is keen on holding the elections within the next few months.
Waghmare studied electronics and telecommunications engineering followed by a masters in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He has worked in several departments including home, energy, social justice and education. He has held the posts of municipal commissioner of Navi Mumbai and Pimpri Chinchwad, collector of Buldhana and chief executive officer of Yavatmal and Washim zilla parishads. He worked in the energy sector earlier and has a good rapport with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
During the term of the previous Mahayuti government, an IAS officer wanted Sujata Saunik to take retirement and apply for the SEC’s post. But the move was stalled by Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, who were both deputy chief ministers in the previous government.
Waghmare was chosen from a pool of 12 candidates, said sources. Eight of them were IAS officers (including two serving) including Dinesh Waghmare, Rajgopal Devara, Niteen Kareer, Rajiv Jalota, Baldev Singh, JP Gupta, Manoj Saunik and Shrikant Deshpande while four others were IPS officers including Vinay Kargaonkar, KK Sarangal, Chiranjeevi Prasad and Atulchandra Kulkarni. Among them, Manoj Saunik, Deshpande and Baldev Singh have already got their post-retirement postings.

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