Sudha Yadav to Take Oath as Karnataka Governor on October 16; Swearing-In Ceremony at Lok Bhavan

Dr Sudha Yadav, senior BJP leader and member of the party’s Parliamentary Board, will take the oath of office on Friday, October 16, 2026. Her swearing-in will be held at 10 am at the Glass House in Lok Bhavan, Bengaluru. She will become Governor of Karnataka after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has served five years.

She was appointed on October 12 by President Droupadi Murmu as part of a wider shuffling of governors in six states. The official communiqué issued by the President’s Secretariat states that Sudha Yadav’s appointment will be made effective from the date she takes over the office. She is expected to go to the ceremony as Karnataka’s constitutional head.

So Sudha Yadav will be sworn in on October 16 in Lok Bhavan for the position of Governor, who is responsible for appointing the Chief Minister on the basis of constitutional guidelines and calling and proroguing the state legislature and giving assent to Bills as per the Constitution.

The Governor also has certain constitutional functions which he has in government formation and other matters as per the law. The Governor is the official constitutional head of state, but the elected government in Karnataka is elected by the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister and has executive power in that regard. Sudha Yadav is appointed at the time when Karnataka’s political and administrative developments are being studied in detail.

Sudha Yadav has always been associated with the BJP and has held various positions in the party. She was a former Member of Parliament and a member of the BJP's Parliamentary Board in August 2022, which is the highest decision-making body of the party. She represented Mahendragarh in Haryana in the Lok Sabha after winning the 1999 general elections and remained its representative until 2004. 

Her political career includes being the BJP’s national secretary and heading the Other Backwards Classes (OBC) Morcha. Before she entered politics, she studied in the field of chemistry and holds a doctorate at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. Her appointment as Karnataka Governor places her in a constitutional role that is different from her earlier political and organisational positions.

Sudha Yadav’s own story has been widely reported. Her husband Sukhbir Singh Yadav was Deputy Commandant in the Border Security Force and was killed in 1999 during the Kargil War. She got into politics after his death, and she contested the Lok Sabha election from Mahendragarh in Haryana.

She grew up in the BJP and, over the years, became a part of its organisational structure and then took over national-level work. Her appointment as Karnataka Governor makes her the second woman to become the Governor after V.S. Ramadevi, who served in office from December 1999 to August 2002. The appointment is therefore significant both in relation to her political background and the historical representation of women in Karnataka’s gubernatorial office.

Sudha Yadav’s appointment was part of a government reshuffle announced by President Droupadi Murmu on October 12. Om Prakash Mathur, who was the Governor of Sikkim, has been appointed Governor of Kerala, which is also called Keralam in the communiqué. Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who was the Governor of Kerala, has been appointed Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Braj Mohan Ram now becomes the Governor of Odisha; Dr Dhal Singh Bisen is the Governor of Uttarakhand. The changes include four new appointments and the transfer of two of the governors who have served in the past to another state. The President’s official note says that the appointments take effect when the individuals take charge of their offices.

With the swearing-in taking place on October 16, we now turn our attention to Sudha Yadav: she formally takes the oath at Lok Bhavan on October 16. She comes from a political career, having been in the party and in the BJP’s Parliamentary Board. She will begin with the constitutional responsibilities of the Governor’s office, as a member of the state legislature and the elected government, as per the Constitution.

This also brings Thaawarchand Gehlot’s tenure to a close after five years in the position. This governor reshuffle will affect six states, but Sudha Yadav’s appointment is of particular importance to Karnataka, as she comes from national politics and party membership. More details about the ceremony and official proceedings are to be provided by Lok Bhavan and government communications.