Navin Chawla

Navin Chawla
16th Chief Election Commissioner of India
In office
21 April 2009 – 29 July 2010
PresidentPratibha Patil
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byN. Gopalaswami
Succeeded byS. Y. Quraishi
Personal details
Born (1945-07-30) 30 July 1945 (age 79)
NationalityIndian
Alma materUniversity of Delhi
University of London
OccupationCivil servant

Navin Chawla (born 30 July 1945) is a retired Indian civil servant and writer, who served as 16th Chief Election Commissioner of India.[1] Four phases (out of five) of the Indian general election to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, were executed under his supervision in April and May 2009.[2]

Chawla is best known for his biography of Mother Teresa and for conducting the 2009 general elections, despite concerns about his leanings towards the Congress Party. Action was taken against alleged malpractice by Congress governments in Rajasthan, Assam and Andhra Pradesh and the Congress-Allied government in Tamil Nadu.[3][4] According to his family, Chawla was deeply influenced by Mother Teresa and decided not to resign from the civil service in 1997 in accordance with her advice.[5]

  1. ^ J Balaji (29 July 2010). "News / National : Chawla demits office; Quraishi to take over". The Hindu. India. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  2. ^ "The wonder that is India's election". The Times of India. 15 May 2009. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  3. ^ Hindustan Times[dead link]
  4. ^ "EC code not letting me work, will move SC, says Assam CM". The Indian Express. India. 25 April 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Standing up to be counted". Hindustan Times. India. 6 March 2009. Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2011.