Sudha Yadav sworn in as Karnataka’s second woman Governor

Senior BJP leader Dr Sudha Yadav was sworn in as Karnataka’s 20th Governor at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru. She becomes the state’s second woman Governor after VS Ramadevi, bringing extensive political experience and a background in public service

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

Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Vibhu Bakhru administered the oath of office to Sudha Yadav in the presence of Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and other dignitaries. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy and outgoing Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot were among those present at the ceremony.

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Ahead of the oath-taking ceremony, Sudha Yadav paid floral tributes at the National Military Memorial in Bengaluru. Following the ceremony, Gehlot felicitated the new Governor, while Chief Minister Shivakumar presented her with a bouquet.

President Droupadi Murmu appointed Sudha Yadav as the Governor of Karnataka on October 12. Gehlot had served as Karnataka Governor since July 21, 2021. Sudha Yadav hails from Haryana and has held several key positions in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She served as a Member of Parliament representing Mahendragarh from 1999 to 2004 and later held the post of BJP national secretary. She also 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 was inducted into the BJP’s Parliamentary Board, the party’s highest decision-making body. Sudha Yadav holds a postgraduate degree in Chemistry and a PhD from Roorkee University. She entered politics following the death of her husband, Sukhbir Singh Yadav, a Deputy Commandant in the Border Security Force (BSF), who was killed during the 1999 Kargil War.

Her appointment marks a significant milestone in Karnataka’s history of appointment of Governors, with the state getting its second woman Governor.