Governor Reshuffle: President Appoints Governors For 6 States; Arlekar Named Tamil Nadu Governor | Check Full List

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday announced the appointment of new governors for six states, leading to changes in the Raj Bhavans in both southern and northern parts of India.  The appointments include Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as the regular Governor of Tamil Nadu, Om Prakash Mathur moving from Sikkim to Kerala, and four new appointments in Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim. 

The Rashtrapati Bhavan announcement says that Braj Mohan Ram has been chosen as the Governor of Odisha, Dr Sudha Yadav has been appointed as the Governor of Karnataka, Dhal Singh Bisen as the Governor of Uttarakhand, and Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the Governor of Sikkim. The appointments will take effect once the appointees assume charge of their respective offices.

The four new governors have worked with the BJP before. They have experience in local politics, working in laws and helping run the party. Their appointments bring leaders with many years of political experience into constitutional positions throughout the country.

Arlekar Gets Full Charge Of Tamil Nadu, Mathur Moves To Keralam

Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who has been serving as the acting Governor of Tamil Nadu since March, has now been officially appointed to the position on a permanent basis.  He started handling the state's governor duties after R N Ravi became the Governor of West Bengal. 

Arlekar used to work as the Speaker of the Goa Assembly and also as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh and Bihar.  His appointment officially confirms his position in Tamil Nadu, where he has been carrying out the duties of the Governor for several months. 

Om Prakash Mathur, a long-time BJP leader and former member of the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, has been moved from Sikkim to Kerala.  Mathur started working as the Governor of Sikkim in July 2024 and will take over from Arlekar in Kerala now. 

Who Are The Four New Governors?

The appointments of Dr Sudha Yadav, Dhal Singh Bisen, Braj Mohan Ram and Dushyant Kumar Gautam bring leaders with long political careers and experience in electoral politics, legislative affairs and party organisation to the gubernatorial offices. Their backgrounds also reflect representation from OBC and Scheduled Caste communities.

Sudha Yadav: From Haryana Politics To Karnataka Raj Bhavan

Dr Sudha Yadav, who has been named as the Governor of Karnataka, is a leader from the OBC community in Haryana's Yadav group.  She represented Mahendragarh in the Lok Sabha and is part of the BJP Parliamentary Board. 

She started her work in public life after her husband, BSF Deputy Commandant Sukhbir Singh Yadav, died. He was killed during the Kargil War.  Yadav continued to build his political career and also worked on the National Commission for Backward Classes from 2019 until 2022. 

She has an academic background and earned both an MSc and a PhD in Chemistry from IIT Roorkee.  Her appointment brings in a former member of parliament who has experience in party work and also worked on a constitutional commission to the Karnataka Raj Bhavan. 

Dushyant Gautam: From Municipal Politics To Sikkim Governor

Dushyant Kumar Gautam, a leader from the Dalit community known as the Chamar in Delhi, has been chosen as the Governor of Sikkim.  His political career started at the local level, where he worked as a councillor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and later he joined the Parliament as a member of the Rajya Sabha. 

Gautam has taken on important roles within the BJP, such as national general secretary and national president of the party's Scheduled Caste Morcha.  He has also worked with the RSS and BJP organizations for many years, mainly helping to improve the situation of Scheduled Caste communities. 

Dhal Singh Bisen: Four-Time MLA And Former Balaghat MP

Dhal Singh Bisen, appointed Governor of Uttarakhand, is an OBC leader from Madhya Pradesh belonging to the Bhoyar Pawar community. A four-time MLA and former Lok Sabha MP from Balaghat, he has also served as a state Cabinet Minister.

During his tenure in the Madhya Pradesh government, Bisen handled portfolios including School Education, Forest, Transport and Mines. He also chaired the state’s Fourth State Finance Commission.

An Ayurveda practitioner by profession, Bisen has a longstanding interest in Indian systems of medicine and their convergence with modern medicine. His political career spans electoral politics, state administration and public finance.

Braj Mohan Ram: From A Farming Family To Odisha Raj Bhavan

Braj Mohan Ram, appointed Governor of Odisha, is a Dalit leader from Jharkhand’s Dhobi community. He comes from a farming family and entered electoral politics in undivided Bihar, where he served as an MLA before being elected to the Lok Sabha from Palamu three times.

Ram won the Palamu parliamentary seat in 1996, 1998 and 1999. His public and organisational work has included responsibilities associated with the State Scheduled Caste Morcha and Dhobi Mahasangh. He has also worked towards establishing educational institutions in Chandwa.

The communique does not specify new assignments for Hari Babu Kambhampati’s successor in Odisha, Thaawarchand Gehlot’s successor in Karnataka, or Lieutenant General (retired) Gurmit Singh’s successor in Uttarakhand.