President Droupadi Murmu issued orders appointing new governors for six Indian states, a move that touched Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. The announcements were made on a Sunday, and the changes were set to take effect as the newly named governors assumed their respective offices. The scope of the adjustment covered half a dozen states, signalling a broad recalibration of Raj Bhavan leadership.
Sudha Yadav, described as a senior BJP leader and former Member of Parliament, was named the new Governor of Karnataka. She succeeds Thawarchand Gehlot in the role. Her academic background includes a PhD in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. Before entering politics, Yadav served as a Deputy Commandant in the Border Security Force. She is married to Sukhbir Singh Yadav, a BSF officer who saw action during the 1999 Kargil War. At the time of her appointment, Sudha Yadav was sixty years old.
One account states that Om Prakash Mehra has been appointed as Kerala’s new governor, replacing Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. Another account notes that O P Mathur, who previously served as governor of Sikkim, has been transferred to Kerala to take up the gubernatorial post. The accounts differ on the name of the appointee, with one naming Om Prakash Mehra and the other O P Mathur, who previously served as governor of Sikkim.
The accounts differ on the name of the appointee, with one naming Om Prakash Mehra and the other O P Mathur, who previously served as governor of Sikkim.
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who had been serving as the Governor of Kerala, was given the responsibility of governing Tamil Nadu. The shift means that Arlekar moves southward from Kerala to assume the constitutional headship of Tamil Nadu, filling the vacancy created by his departure from the Kerala Raj Bhavan.
Braj Mohan Ram was named the new Governor of Odisha. The appointment places him at the helm of the state’s administrative oversight, succeeding whoever held the post before the October 2026 reshuffle. No further details about Ram’s background are provided.
The appointment for Uttarakhand is recorded as Dr. Dhal Singh Bisens in one account and Dr. Dhal Singh Bisht in another. Both versions agree that the appointee holds a doctoral title and is to serve as the Governor of Uttarakhand, taking over from the incumbent at the time of the announcement.
In addition to the transfers noted elsewhere, Dushyant Gautam was appointed as the new Governor of Sikkim. This appointment fills the spot left vacant by the movement of the previous Sikkim governor—referred to as O P Mathur in one account—to Kerala. No further details about Gautam’s prior experience are provided.
While the primary focus of the announcements fell on the six states detailed above, reports note that governors were also named for Jharkhand, alongside Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim and Odisha. The name and details of the Jharkhand appointment are not specified.
President Droupadi Murmu’s orders were announced on a Sunday.
The chronology indicates that the announcements were made on 2026-10-12. This date marks both the announcement of the new governors for six states and the specific appointment of Sudha Yadav as Karnataka Governor, anchoring the reshuffle to a single point in time.
The exercise involved six states receiving new governors. Additionally, it is noted that Sudha Yadav was sixty years old at the time of her appointment to Karnataka.