Mumbai, Feb 29 (IANS): The Election Commission has appointed senior IAS officer S. Chokalingam as the new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Maharashtra, an official announcement said here on Wednesday.

The key appointment comes barely weeks ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha 2024 elections, due to be announced next month.

Chokalingam, 56, is an IAS officer of 1996 batch's Maharashtra cadre and replaces S. M. Deshpande, a 1991 batch IAS officer.

As the CEO, he will oversee the work of the Lok Sabha elections as well as the state Assembly elections due later this year.

Prior to his new appointment as state CEO, he has held several important assignments in different departments, Collector of several districts, and recently as the Director-General of Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration in Pune.

Chokalingam is a qualified lawyer who practiced for a year in Madras High Court, has a Certificate on Gandhian Thought, and completed his Masters in Public Administration from Birmingham University, the UK, has authored a book and penned research papers on various topics, including property rights and drone surveys of villages.