Karnataka Governor Sudha Yadav took oath at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru on October 16, 2026, becoming the state’s 20th Governor. She is the second woman to hold the post after V.S. Ramadevi, who served from 1999 to 2002.
Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru administered the oath of office in the presence of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara and other dignitaries. Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, Legislative Council Opposition Leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy and outgoing Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot also attended the ceremony. Before the swearing-in, Yadav paid floral tributes at Bengaluru’s National Military Memorial. Following the ceremony, Gehlot felicitated the new Governor, while the Chief Minister presented her with a bouquet.
Karnataka Governor Sudha Yadav Appointed by President Murmu
President Droupadi Murmu appointed Sudha Yadav as Karnataka Governor on October 12, 2026, as part of a wider reshuffle involving gubernatorial appointments in six states. Yadav succeeded Thaawarchand Gehlot, who had served as Karnataka Governor since July 2021. The appointments took effect from the dates on which the respective appointees assumed office.
Sudha Yadav’s Political Career
Yadav hails from Haryana and has held several organisational positions in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She represented Mahendragarh in the Lok Sabha from 1999 to 2004. She later served as the BJP’s national secretary and headed its Other Backward Classes (OBC) Morcha.
She also served as a member of the National Commission for Backward Classes from 2019 to 2022. In August 2022, she joined the BJP Parliamentary Board, the party’s top decision-making body.
Yadav holds postgraduate qualifications in Chemistry and a PhD from Roorkee University, now IIT Roorkee. She entered electoral politics after her husband, Sukhbir Singh Yadav, a Deputy Commandant in the Border Security Force, was killed during the 1999 Kargil War.
Yadav’s appointment adds a new chapter to Karnataka’s gubernatorial history. Her career spans parliamentary representation, BJP organisation and work with the National Commission for Backward Classes. As the state’s second woman Governor, she succeeds Thaawarchand Gehlot following his tenure of more than five years.
