Senior BJP leader LK Advani on Sunday suggested that the appointment of Election Commissioners should be done based on the recommendations of a panel, which includes the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha as is done in the case of the CVC (Chief Vigilance Commissioner) and the CIC(Central Information Commission).

The benchmarks for the recruitment of CVC were set by the 1998 Supreme Court bench comprising the  then Chief Justice JS Verma, Justice SP Barucha and Justice SC Sen which stated that a selection panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha would choose the CVC, said Advani in his blog.

Subsequently, this  same practice was followed in the case of appointment of Chief Information Commissioner.

There is no reason why the government cannot follow the same precedent in the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner, opined Advani.  

Mr.Advani recollected that his party vehemently opposed the  earlier Navin Chawla as the Chief Election Commissioner , first during his tenure as Election Commissioner and later when he was elevated to the post of Chief Election Commissioner. The main opposition had alleged that he favoured the Congress party.