New Delhi, Jul 30 : Election Commissioner Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi today took over as Chief Election Commissioner, succeeding Navin B Chawla, who demitted office yesterday after having presided over the Commission for little more than a year.

The notification appointing Mr Quraishi, who has become the first Muslim in the country to occupy the post of the CEC, was issued by the Law Ministry on July 27.

He will have a little less than two years in the Constitutional post.

Under his stewardship, the Election Commission will soon be conducting polls in a few states whose outcome may well redraw the political landscape of the country. They are -- Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

The government will have to appoint a new Election Commissioner with the elevation of Mr Quraishi. Mr V S Sampath is the other Election Commissioner.

''I feel honoured. I realise the responsibility that the Election Commission carries towards keeping India's democracy firmly on the rails. It would be my utmost endeavour to prove myself worthy of this trust. I have abiding faith that the Commission will continue to deliver on its mandate, in the face of all challenges old and new, as it has always done in the past,'' he said in his first reaction on taking over as CEC here.

Mr Quraishi told mediapersons that enhancing voters participation and restricting the role of money power in elections are among the emerging challenges before the poll panel.

He added, ''We are already working systematically to achieve a perfect electoral roll at the earliest.'' He said voter education, something that he has been closely involved within the EC for the past two years, tops his list of priorities.

He further said expenditure by candidates during elections is another issue that he would have to deal with, adding he wants to set up an expenditure monitoring division that will be manned by Indian Revenue Services officers Mr Quraishi is a Haryana cadre IAS officer of the 1971 batch.

He joined the Election Commission in the year 2006. Prior to joining the Election Commission, he was the Secretary of Sports and Youth Affairs.

He has held several key positions before getting into the Election Commission and contributed enormously to the fields of health, education, population, drug abuse and other social issues.

Born on June 11, 1947, in Delhi, Mr Quraishi is a post-graduate in history. He did his PhD in the areas of communication and social marketing.

The title of his doctoral thesis was "The Role of Communication and Social Marketing in Development of Women and Children". His book 'Social Marketing for Social Change' has broken new ground in the field of development communication and is considered a pioneering effort with special reference to women and children.

He has authored two papers, 'Islam, Muslims and Family Planning in India', and 'Islam and AIDS'.