President Droupadi Murmu appointed new Governors for six states on 12 October 2026 through a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique. The order names Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as the full time Governor of Tamil Nadu and Om Prakash Mathur as the Governor of Kerala, along with new Governors for Karnataka, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. The reshuffle settles dual charge arrangements in the south and places experienced public figures in Raj Bhavans that guide government formation, legislation and state universities.
Complete List of Six New Governor Appointments
The Rashtrapati Bhavan communique of 12 October 2026 announced two transfers and four fresh appointments. President Droupadi Murmu shifted sitting Governors in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and named new Governors for Karnataka, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. The appointments take effect from the dates on which each appointee assumes charge of the respective office.
| State | New Governor Appointed | Previous Position or Background |
|---|---|---|
| Tamil Nadu | Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar | Governor of Kerala with additional charge of Tamil Nadu since March 2026, now full time Governor of Tamil Nadu |
| Kerala | Om Prakash Mathur | Governor of Sikkim since July 2024, now transferred to Kerala |
| Karnataka | Dr Sudha Yadav | Former Lok Sabha MP from Mahendragarh and former member of National Commission for Backward Classes |
| Odisha | Braj Mohan Ram | Former Lok Sabha MP from Palamu and head of BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha in Jharkhand |
| Uttarakhand | Dhal Singh Bisen | Former Lok Sabha MP from Balaghat and former minister in Madhya Pradesh government |
| Sikkim | Dushyant Gautam | Former Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana and former BJP national general secretary |
The reshuffle replaces Thawarchand Gehlot in Karnataka, Hari Babu Kambhampati in Odisha and Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (retired) in Uttarakhand. In the south, the order ends the dual charge system under which Arlekar held both Kerala and Tamil Nadu after March 2026.
Who Are the New Governors
The six appointees bring long records in legislatures, party organisation and social work. Four of them belong to Other Backward Classes or Scheduled Caste communities. Two are sitting Governors who have been moved to new states.
Rajendra Arlekar, Governor of Tamil Nadu
The new Governor of Tamil Nadu is Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, born on 23 April 1954 in Panaji, Goa. He graduated in Commerce from MES College in Vasco da Gama and joined public life through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in childhood and the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1989. He faced imprisonment during the Emergency of 1975 to 1977.
Arlekar served as president of the Goa BJP unit from 2003 to 2007 and as a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly. He was Speaker of the Goa Assembly from 2012 to 2017 and led the shift to a paperless Assembly, the first such system in India. He later served as Minister for Forest, Environment and Panchayati Raj in Goa. His constitutional career includes terms as Governor of Himachal Pradesh from 2021 to 2023, Governor of Bihar from 2023 to 2024 and Governor of Kerala from January 2025. He took additional charge of Tamil Nadu on 12 March 2026 after R N Ravi moved to West Bengal. The October 2026 order makes him the full time head of Raj Bhavan Chennai.
Om Prakash Mathur, Governor of Kerala
The new Governor of Kerala is Om Prakash Mathur, born on 2 January 1952 in Bedal village in Pali district of Rajasthan. He graduated from Rajasthan University in Jaipur. Mathur started as an RSS pracharak in 1972 and spent about 11 months in jail during the Emergency. He worked with the Kisan Sangh from 1979 to 1989 before moving to full time party work.
Mathur rose to become national general secretary of the BJP, president of the Rajasthan BJP unit in 2008 to 2009 and national vice president from 2015 to 2022. He represented Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha for two terms, from 2008 to 2014 and from 2016 to 2022, and chaired the Rajya Sabha House Committee. He also served on the Central Election Committee of the BJP. President Droupadi Murmu appointed him Governor of Sikkim on 27 July 2024 and he assumed office on 31 July 2024. He now moves to Raj Bhavan Thiruvananthapuram.
Sudha Yadav, Governor of Karnataka
The new Governor of Karnataka is Dr Sudha Yadav from Haryana. She holds an MSc in Chemistry completed in 1987 and a PhD in Chemistry completed in 1992 from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. She entered politics after the death of her husband, Border Security Force Deputy Commandant Sukhbir Singh Yadav, in the Kargil War of 1999.
The BJP fielded Sudha Yadav from Mahendragarh in the 1999 Lok Sabha election. She won by more than 1.39 lakh votes and served as a member of the Lok Sabha from 1999 to 2004. She worked with parliamentary committees on defence and women empowerment. She later led the BJP OBC Morcha as national in charge from 2015, served as a member of the National Commission for Backward Classes from 2019 to 2022 and joined the BJP Parliamentary Board, the highest decision making body of the party, in August 2022. She succeeds Thawarchand Gehlot in Bengaluru and becomes the second woman to hold the post in Karnataka after V S Rama Devi, who served from 1999 to 2002.
Braj Mohan Ram, Governor of Odisha
The new Governor of Odisha is Braj Mohan Ram, born on 1 January 1958 in Chandwa in Palamu district, now in Latehar district of Jharkhand. He graduated from Ranchi University and worked as an agriculturist. He began in student politics and won the Latehar Assembly seat in undivided Bihar in 1991.
Ram served as a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 1995. He then won the Palamu Lok Sabha seat, a constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes, in 1996, 1998 and 1999 and served in Parliament till 2004. He worked with committees on energy, steel, mines and railways and helped open a girls high school, a degree college and a library in Chandwa. He later led the BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha in Jharkhand. He succeeds Hari Babu Kambhampati in Bhubaneswar and becomes the second leader from Jharkhand to head Odisha Raj Bhavan after Raghubar Das.
Dhal Singh Bisen, Governor of Uttarakhand
The new Governor of Uttarakhand is Dr Dhal Singh Bisen, born on 14 May 1952 in Pipariya village in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh. He studied Ayurvedic medicine at Chhattisgarh Ayurvedic College in Raipur and worked as a medical practitioner and farmer. He began public life as an elected panch in his village.
Bisen won the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election four times between 1990 and 2003 from the Seoni region. He served as a cabinet minister in Madhya Pradesh from 2003 to 2005 with portfolios including forest, transport, minerals, school education and jails. He chaired the Fourth State Finance Commission of Madhya Pradesh from 2011 to 2013. He won the Balaghat Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and served in the 17th Lok Sabha till 2024. He succeeds Lt Gen Gurmit Singh in Dehradun and Nainital.
Dushyant Gautam, Governor of Sikkim
The new Governor of Sikkim is Dushyant Kumar Gautam, born on 29 December 1957 in Delhi. He graduated from Delhi University. He joined the RSS and the student movement through the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and began party work in 1982 as a mandal president in the Yuva Morcha.
Gautam served as a municipal councillor in Delhi from 1997 to 2002. He led the BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha at the national level in several terms and rose to become national vice president and then national general secretary of the BJP from September 2020. He represented Haryana in the Rajya Sabha from March 2020 to August 2022. He also served as election in charge for states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka. He takes charge of Raj Bhavan Gangtok in place of Om Prakash Mathur.
How Is the Governor Appointed in India
The Governor of a state is not elected but appointed by the President of India by warrant under hand and seal. The President acts on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers. Any Indian citizen aged 35 years or more is eligible for appointment.
The Constitution lays down this system in Part VI. Article 153 states that there shall be a Governor for each state, though the same person can be appointed as Governor for two or more states. Article 154 vests the executive power of the state in the Governor. Article 155 states in clear terms that the President appoints the Governor by warrant under hand and seal.
The framers of the Constitution chose appointment over direct election to keep the head of the state above party competition and to protect the federal balance. The President follows the advice of the central government in practice, which is why Governor appointments often reflect national political changes. The same provision allows transfers, as seen in the October 2026 move of Arlekar from Kerala to Tamil Nadu and Mathur from Sikkim to Kerala. A person appointed as Governor must not be a member of Parliament or a state legislature. If such a member is appointed, the seat falls vacant on the date the person enters office.
By Whom Is the Governor Oath Administered
The oath of a Governor is administered by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned. In the absence of the Chief Justice, the senior most Judge of that Court administers the oath. The Governor swears to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and serve the people of the state.
Article 159 of the Constitution prescribes this oath. The provision states that every Governor and every person discharging the functions of the Governor must make and subscribe the oath before entering office. The oath is taken in the presence of the Chief Justice of the High Court that has jurisdiction over the state.
The wording commits the Governor to faithfully execute the office, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and to devote efforts to the service and well being of the people of the state. In practice, new Governors take oath at Raj Bhavan shortly after the Presidential warrant is issued. Rajendra Arlekar took oath as Governor of Tamil Nadu on 12 March 2026 before the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. The six Governors named in October 2026 will take similar oaths in Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Dehradun and Gangtok before assuming charge.
What Are the Eligibility, Tenure and Salary of a Governor
Eligibility for Governor requires Indian citizenship and minimum age of 35 years. The normal term is five years, but the Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President. The monthly salary is 3,50,000 rupees, paid from the Consolidated Fund of the State and protected during the term.
Article 157 lays down only two qualifications. The person must be a citizen of India and must have completed 35 years of age. The Constitution does not prescribe any educational qualification or professional experience. A long standing convention, though not written in the Constitution, is that the appointee should not belong to the same state where the appointment is made. This practice aims to keep the Governor free from local politics.
Article 156 deals with the term. The Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President, which means the President can remove or transfer the Governor at any time. Subject to that power, the normal term is five years from the date of entering office. The Governor can resign by writing to the President. The Governor continues in office even after the term ends until a successor takes charge.
Article 158 lays down the conditions of office. The Governor gets free use of the official residence, usually called Raj Bhavan or Lok Bhavan. Parliament fixes the emoluments, allowances and privileges by law. The present salary is ₹3,50,000 per month. The amount is charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State and cannot be cut during the term. When the same person holds charge of two states, the salary and allowances are shared between the states in the proportion fixed by the President.
What Are the Powers and Functions of a Governor
The Governor is the constitutional head of the state with executive, legislative, judicial and discretionary powers. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister, assents to Bills, issues ordinances, grants pardons and reports on constitutional breakdown. Most acts are done on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
The executive role flows from Article 154 and Article 163. All executive action of the state runs in the name of the Governor. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister after an election and appoints other ministers on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Governor also appoints the Advocate General, the Chairperson and members of the State Public Service Commission and nominates members to state universities as Chancellor in many states. Article 163 requires the Governor to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers except where the Constitution permits discretion.
The legislative role centres on Article 200 and Article 213. The Governor summons, prorogues and dissolves the state legislature and addresses the first session after an election and each year. A Bill passed by the Assembly becomes law only after the Governor gives assent. The Governor can give assent, withhold assent, return the Bill for reconsideration or reserve the Bill for the President. The Governor can also issue an ordinance under Article 213 when the legislature is not in session and immediate action is needed. The ordinance must be placed before the legislature within six weeks of reassembly.
The judicial and mercy role comes from Article 161. The Governor can grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions for offences against state laws. This pardoning power is narrower than the power of the President, since the Governor cannot pardon a death sentence completely but can suspend or commute it. The Governor also reports to the President under Article 356 if the constitutional machinery in the state breaks down, which can lead to President Rule.
Governor Versus Chief Minister, President and Lieutenant Governor
Many readers mix the post of Governor with other posts that sound similar. The differences are sharp and often create confusion. The Governor is the constitutional head of a state, while the Chief Minister is the real executive head who runs the government.
| Comparison | Governor | Other Post |
|---|---|---|
| Governor and Chief Minister | Nominal head of the state, acts on ministerial advice, appoints the Chief Minister after elections | Real executive head, leads the Council of Ministers, holds majority support in the Assembly |
| Governor and President | Head of a single state, appointed by the President, reports on state constitutional breakdown | Head of the nation, elected by an electoral college, appoints Governors and holds supreme command of forces |
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor | Heads a full state with a Council of Ministers that has wide powers | Heads a Union Territory, appointed by the President, holds stronger direct powers in places like Delhi and Puducherry |
The Governor and the Chief Minister work together, but the Chief Minister holds political power because of majority in the Assembly. The Governor steps in during hung verdicts, as Tamil Nadu saw after earlier elections, to decide who should be invited first to prove majority. The President and the Governor share a link of appointment and removal, since the Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President. The Lieutenant Governor looks similar but governs a Union Territory under direct central oversight and, in some territories, can act without ministerial advice on reserved subjects.
State Governor Versus RBI Governor
Search results often mix the state Governor with the RBI Governor because both use the same title. The two posts belong to entirely different fields. The state Governor is the constitutional head of a state under the Constitution. The RBI Governor is the head of the Reserve Bank of India, the central bank of the country, under the RBI Act of 1934.
The state Governor lives in Raj Bhavan, deals with ministries, legislatures and universities and is appointed by the President. The RBI Governor sits in Mumbai, deals with monetary policy, currency, inflation and bank regulation and is appointed by the central government. Sanjay Malhotra is the RBI Governor (as of October 2026), succeeding Shaktikanta Das who served from 2018 to 2024. The October 2026 announcements concern only state Governors in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and have no link to the central bank.
Key Takeaways
- President Droupadi Murmu appointed new Governors for six states on 12 October 2026 through a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique.
- Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar became the full time Governor of Tamil Nadu and Om Prakash Mathur moved from Sikkim to Kerala.
- Sudha Yadav became the Governor of Karnataka, Braj Mohan Ram of Odisha, Dhal Singh Bisen of Uttarakhand and Dushyant Gautam of Sikkim.
- The Governor is appointed by the President under Article 155 and holds office during the pleasure of the President with a normal term of five years under Article 156.
- The Governor must be an Indian citizen aged at least 35 years under Article 157 and takes oath before the Chief Justice of the High Court under Article 159.
- The monthly salary of a Governor is ₹3,50,000, charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State and protected during the term.
