Pariksha SaathiSix Governors Appointed: Arlekar Shifted to Tamil Nadu, O.P. Mathur to Keralam
A late-evening communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan on 12 October 2026 announced Governor appointments for six states. Two of them are transfers of serving Governors: Om Prakash Mathur moves from Sikkim to Keralam (Kerala), and Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who was posted in Keralam, now heads to Tamil Nadu. The remaining four appointments are Braj Mohan Ram for Odisha, Dr. Sudha Yadav for Karnataka, Dr. Dhal Singh Bisen for Uttarakhand and Dushyant Gautam for Sikkim, where he fills the post that Mathur is vacating. The communique makes clear that none of these changes is immediate: each appointment comes into force only on the day the person actually assumes charge of the new Raj Bhavan. Aspirants should update their state-wise list of Governors, since matching a Governor to the correct state is a regular General Awareness question, and it helps to remember the two transfers separately from the four other appointments.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Article 153 of the Constitution provides a Governor for each state, and a proviso added by the Seventh Amendment (1956) allows one person to be Governor of two or more states. Under Article 155 the Governor is appointed by the President by warrant under his or her hand and seal, and Article 156 says the Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President, normally for five years from the date of entering office. Article 157 requires the appointee to be a citizen of India who has completed 35 years of age.
Reference: Constitution of India, Legislative Department (Ministry of Law and Justice)
Check yourself: does a Governor have to leave office automatically on completing five years, even if no successor has been appointed?
No. Article 156(3) says a Governor continues to hold office, despite the expiry of the five-year term, until the successor enters upon that office.
Revision task: from this communique, separate the two transfers from the four other appointments, and note why the new postings take effect only when charge is assumed rather than on the date of the communique.
Test yourself
In the Governor appointments announced on 12 October 2026, to which state was Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, earlier posted in Keralam, moved?
Show the answer
Answer: Tamil Nadu
Arlekar moves from Keralam to Tamil Nadu, and Om Prakash Mathur moves from Sikkim to Keralam; the other four appointments are Braj Mohan Ram (Odisha), Dr. Sudha Yadav (Karnataka), Dr. Dhal Singh Bisen (Uttarakhand) and Dushyant Gautam (Sikkim). Each takes effect only when the person assumes charge.
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