Sudha Yadav Sworn in as Karnatakas Second Female Governor
Sudha Yadav takes oath as Karnatakas 20th governor, becoming the states second woman to hold the position.
Bengaluru, October 16 (Daily Kiran) : Dr. Sudha Yadav, a prominent leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was sworn in as the 20th Governor of Karnataka on October 16, 2026, at the Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru. She is notably the second woman to assume this constitutional role, following V.S. Ramadevi, who served from 1999 to 2002.
The oath was administered by Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Vibhakar Bhakru, in the presence of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, and other dignitaries. Among the attendees were R. Ashok, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, and Chaluva Narayanaswamy, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, along with outgoing Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot.
Prior to the ceremony, Sudha Yadav paid homage at the National Military Memorial in Bengaluru. After the oath-taking, Gehlot congratulated the new governor, while Shivakumar presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
President Droupadi Murmu appointed Sudha Yadav as the Governor of Karnataka on October 12. Gehlot had been in office since July 21, 2021.
Hailing from Haryana, Sudha Yadav has held several significant positions within the BJP. She served as a Member of Parliament for Mahendergarh from 1999 to 2004 and later became the party’s national secretary. She has also led the BJP’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) front.
From 2019 to 2022, she was a member of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) and joined the BJP’s parliamentary board in August 2022, which is the party’s highest decision-making body. Sudha Yadav holds a postgraduate degree in chemistry and earned her Ph.D. from Roorkee University.
Her entry into politics followed the tragic death of her husband, Sukhbir Singh Yadav, who was a Deputy Commandant in the Border Security Force and was martyred during the Kargil War in 1999. Sudha Yadav’s appointment marks a significant milestone in Karnataka’s history of gubernatorial appointments, as the state welcomes its second female governor.
