President Murmu names new Governors for six states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Keralam

President Droupadi Murmu has appointed new Governors for six states, according to a communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday, 12 October. The reshuffle involves two transfers and four fresh appointments. Each appointment takes effect from the date the new Governor assumes charge.

Who goes where

Om Prakash Mathur, who has been Governor of Sikkim since July 2024, moves to Keralam (Kerala). A veteran BJP organiser from Rajasthan, he served in the Rajya Sabha for two terms between 2008 and 2022.

Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, until now Governor of Keralam, becomes Governor of Tamil Nadu. A former Speaker of the Goa Assembly who has also served as Governor of Himachal Pradesh and Bihar, he had been handling the Tamil Nadu Governor's duties since March 2026, after R N Ravi was moved to West Bengal.

Sudha Yadav, a former Lok Sabha member from Mahendragarh in Haryana, has been named Governor of Karnataka, succeeding Thaawarchand Gehlot. She holds a doctorate in chemistry from IIT Roorkee and was a member of the National Commission for Backward Classes from 2019 to 2022.

Braj Mohan Ram, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Palamu in Jharkhand three times in a row from 1996, takes over in Odisha from Hari Babu Kambhampati. Dhal Singh Bisen, a former MP from Balaghat and a minister in the Madhya Pradesh government between 2003 and 2005, becomes Governor of Uttarakhand in place of Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd).

Dushyant Gautam, a former BJP national general secretary and former Rajya Sabha member who began his political career as a Delhi municipal councillor, succeeds Mathur in Sikkim.

Reactions

Several leaders congratulated the appointees on social media. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed Bisen, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wished all six a successful tenure, and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said he hoped their terms would bring welfare and progress to the people of their states.

Why it matters

Governors play a key constitutional role in the states, including giving or withholding assent to Bills passed by state legislatures and overseeing the formation of governments. The office has drawn public attention in recent years, particularly in states such as Tamil Nadu where the Governor and the elected government have disagreed over Bills. The communique did not give reasons for the changes, and it does not link the reshuffle to any such dispute.