Dr. Sudha Yadav Becomes Karnataka’s Second Woman Governor

Senior BJP leader Dr Sudha Yadav was sworn in as the 20th Governor of Karnataka at Lok Bhavan, Bengaluru, on Friday. She is only the second woman to hold this constitutional post in the state, after V. S. Ramadevi, who served from 1999 to 2002.

Who Is Sudha Yadav?

Dr Sudha Yadav comes from Haryana and has held several important roles in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Political Career

• She was a Member of Parliament from Mahendragarh from 1999 to 2004.
• She later served as BJP national secretary and headed the party’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) Morcha.
• She was a member of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) from 2019 to 2022.
• In August 2022, she joined the BJP Parliamentary Board, the party’s highest decision-making body.

Education and Entry into Politics

She holds a postgraduate degree in Chemistry and a PhD from Roorkee University. She entered politics after her husband, Sukhbir Singh Yadav, a Deputy Commandant in the Border Security Force (BSF), was killed in the 1999 Kargil War.

President Droupadi Murmu Appointed Sudha Yadav as the Governor of Karnataka on October 12, 2026

President Droupadi Murmu appointed her on 12 October 2026. She succeeds Thaawarchand Gehlot, who had served as Karnataka Governor since 21 July 2021.

Dr. Sudha Yadav's oath-taking ceremony took place on 16th October, 2026

• Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru administered the oath.
• Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara attended.
• Opposition leaders R Ashoka and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, along with outgoing Governor Gehlot, were also present.
• Before the ceremony, she paid floral tributes at the National Military Memorial in Bengaluru.