President Appoints Six Governors, Kargil Martyr’s Widow Sudha Yadav Named Karnataka Governor

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed six governors, transferring Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar from Keralam to Tamil Nadu and Om Prakash Mathur from Sikkim to Keralam, while naming four new governors for different states.

According to a communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan, senior BJP leaders Dushyant Gautam, Sudha Yadav, Dhal Singh Bisen and Braj Mohan Ram have been appointed governors of Sikkim, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Odisha, respectively. The appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge.

Arlekar, who took oath as Keralam Governor on January 2, 2025, had been holding the additional charge of Tamil Nadu since March 12 this year. Mathur was appointed Sikkim Governor in July 2024.

Gautam, a Dalit leader from Delhi, succeeds Mathur in Sikkim. He has held several organisational positions in the BJP, including national general secretary and president of its Scheduled Caste Morcha. His political career includes serving as a municipal councillor and a Rajya Sabha member.

Yadav, an Other Backward Class (OBC) leader from Haryana, succeeds Thaawarchand Gehlot in Karnataka, who had held the post since July 2021. The widow of BSF Deputy Commandant Sukhbir Singh Yadav, who was killed during the Kargil War, she represented Mahendragarh in the Lok Sabha and is a member of the BJP Parliamentary Board.

Holding an MSc and PhD in chemistry from IIT Roorkee, Yadav also served on the National Commission for Backward Classes from 2019 to 2022. She is the second woman to become Karnataka Governor, after Sushma Swaraj.

Bisen, a four-time MLA and former Balaghat MP from Madhya Pradesh, succeeds Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh in Uttarakhand. He has served as a state minister handling portfolios including education, forests, transport and mines.

Ram, 68, a Dalit leader from Jharkhand and three-time Palamu MP, succeeds Hari Babu Kambhampati in Odisha. He has also served as an MLA in undivided Bihar.