THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cabinet meeting decided to recommend to the Governor the appointment of General Education Department Secretary A Shahjahan as the State Election Commissioner from March 31.

The current commissioner, V.S. After Bhaskaran retires on March 31. Shahjahan is the second IAS officer to become the state election commissioner.

Apart from general education, he is also the secretary of the departments of Waqf, Minority Welfare and Sports and Youth Welfare. He has also served as Secretary of Higher Education - Social Justice, Local Self Government Departments, and Director of Public Education, Lottery, IT Mission, etc.

He was the District Collector of Kollam for three years. As the Secretary of the Local Government Department, he was in charge of Local Government Elections. He also worked as a Central Election Observer in seventeen states.

Shahjahan hails from Thiruvananthapuram and holds a Master's degree in Journalism and a Master's degree in Management. His wife: A. Najma. Children: S Anees, Dr. Siba. In-laws: Dr Alpha, Dr Hamdi Nisar. Persons holding the post of District Judges are generally considered to be State Commissioner for Local Government Elections. Kamalkutty, who was appointed as the State Election Commissioner in 2006-11, was the only IAS officer to hold this position.