Governors and Chief Ministers of Indian States 2026: Quick Answer
India has 28 states, each with a Governor and a Chief Minister, and 8 Union Territories, of which only Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry have a Chief Minister. The latest change came on 12 October 2026, when President Droupadi Murmu appointed Governors for six states: Dr. Sudha Yadav (Karnataka), Om Prakash Mathur (Keralam), Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar (Tamil Nadu), Braj Mohan Ram (Odisha), Dr. Dhal Singh Bisen (Uttarakhand) and Dushyant Gautam (Sikkim).
Key takeaway: New Governors (12 Oct 2026): Karnataka = Sudha Yadav (the state's 2nd woman Governor), Keralam = O.P. Mathur (moved from Sikkim), Tamil Nadu = R.V. Arlekar (full-time; moved from Keralam), Odisha = Braj Mohan Ram, Uttarakhand = Dhal Singh Bisen, Sikkim = Dushyant Gautam. New CMs of 2026: C. Joseph Vijay (Tamil Nadu), Suvendu Adhikari (West Bengal), V.D. Satheesan (Keralam), D.K. Shivakumar (Karnataka).
The six new Governors are taken word for word from the Rashtrapati Bhavan press communique of 12.10.2026. The rest of the list was cross-checked on 23 October 2026 against two independent, up-to-date lists (Wikipedia's "2026 in India" state-government table and Veranda Race's October 2026 list), which agree on every name. The appointments "take effect from the dates they will assume charge", as the communique says.
Governor Changes of 12 October 2026 (Latest)
| State | New Governor | Replaces | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karnataka | Dr. Sudha Yadav | Thaawarchand Gehlot (Governor since July 2021) | Former BJP MP from Mahendragarh, Haryana; 2nd woman Governor of Karnataka after V.S. Ramadevi |
| Keralam | Om Prakash Mathur | Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar | Moved from Sikkim |
| Tamil Nadu | Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar | (he held additional charge of Tamil Nadu) | Moved from Keralam; now full-time Governor of Tamil Nadu |
| Odisha | Braj Mohan Ram | Kambhampati Hari Babu | Former Lok Sabha MP from Palamu, Jharkhand |
| Uttarakhand | Dr. Dhal Singh Bisen | Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd.) | Former Lok Sabha MP from Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh |
| Sikkim | Dushyant Gautam | Om Prakash Mathur | Former BJP general secretary |
Source: President of India, Press Communique, 12.10.2026; backgrounds from The Hindu, India Today and The New Indian Express reports of 12 October 2026.
List of Governors and Chief Ministers of Indian States 2026 (All 28)
| No. | State | Chief Minister | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | N. Chandrababu Naidu | Justice (Retd.) S. Abdul Nazeer |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | Pema Khandu | Lt Gen (Retd.) Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik |
| 3 | Assam | Himanta Biswa Sarma | Lakshman Prasad Acharya |
| 4 | Bihar | Samrat Choudhary | Lt Gen (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain |
| 5 | Chhattisgarh | Vishnu Deo Sai | Ramen Deka |
| 6 | Goa | Pramod Sawant | Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju |
| 7 | Gujarat | Bhupendra Patel | Acharya Devvrat |
| 8 | Haryana | Nayab Singh Saini | Prof. Ashim Kumar Ghosh |
| 9 | Himachal Pradesh | Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu | Kavinder Gupta |
| 10 | Jharkhand | Hemant Soren | Santosh Kumar Gangwar |
| 11 | Karnataka | D.K. Shivakumar | Dr. Sudha Yadav (new) |
| 12 | Keralam | V.D. Satheesan | Om Prakash Mathur (new) |
| 13 | Madhya Pradesh | Mohan Yadav | Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel |
| 14 | Maharashtra | Devendra Fadnavis | Jishnu Dev Varma |
| 15 | Manipur | Yumnam Khemchand Singh | Ajay Kumar Bhalla |
| 16 | Meghalaya | Conrad K. Sangma | C.H. Vijayashankar |
| 17 | Mizoram | Lalduhoma | Gen (Dr.) Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.) |
| 18 | Nagaland | Neiphiu Rio | Nand Kishore Yadav |
| 19 | Odisha | Mohan Charan Majhi | Braj Mohan Ram (new) |
| 20 | Punjab | Bhagwant Mann | Gulab Chand Kataria |
| 21 | Rajasthan | Bhajan Lal Sharma | Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde |
| 22 | Sikkim | Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) | Dushyant Gautam (new) |
| 23 | Tamil Nadu | C. Joseph Vijay | Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar (new, full-time) |
| 24 | Telangana | A. Revanth Reddy | Shiv Pratap Shukla |
| 25 | Tripura | Dr. Manik Saha | N. Indrasena Reddy |
| 26 | Uttar Pradesh | Yogi Adityanath | Anandiben Patel |
| 27 | Uttarakhand | Pushkar Singh Dhami | Dr. Dhal Singh Bisen (new) |
| 28 | West Bengal | Suvendu Adhikari | R.N. Ravi |
Kerala is written "Keralam" in official communiques in 2026, as in the 12.10.2026 communique above. For state capitals, see our States and Capitals of India 2026 note.
Union Territories: Lieutenant Governors, Administrators and CMs 2026
| No. | Union Territory | Lt Governor / Administrator | Chief Minister |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Admiral (Retd.) D.K. Joshi (Lt Governor) | No legislature |
| 2 | Chandigarh | Gulab Chand Kataria (Administrator; Governor of Punjab) | No legislature |
| 3 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Praful Khoda Patel (Administrator) | No legislature |
| 4 | Delhi (NCT) | Taranjit Singh Sandhu (Lt Governor) | Rekha Gupta |
| 5 | Jammu and Kashmir | Manoj Sinha (Lt Governor) | Omar Abdullah |
| 6 | Ladakh | Vinai Kumar Saxena (Lt Governor) | No legislature |
| 7 | Lakshadweep | Praful Khoda Patel (Administrator, additional charge) | No legislature |
| 8 | Puducherry | K. Kailashnathan (Lt Governor) | N. Rangasamy |
New Chief Ministers in 2026 (After the State Elections)
| State | Chief Minister | Key fact for exams |
|---|---|---|
| Tamil Nadu | C. Joseph Vijay (TVK) | Actor who founded Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam; sworn in on 10 May 2026 |
| West Bengal | Suvendu Adhikari (BJP) | First BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal; sworn in May 2026 by Governor R.N. Ravi |
| Keralam | V.D. Satheesan (INC) | Sworn in May 2026 by Governor R.V. Arlekar |
| Assam | Himanta Biswa Sarma (BJP) | Second consecutive term, from May 2026 |
| Puducherry | N. Rangasamy (AINRC) | Continues as Chief Minister after the 2026 election |
| Karnataka | D.K. Shivakumar (INC) | Took over from Siddaramaiah in June 2026 |
Governor vs Chief Minister: Polity Facts for Exams
| Point | Governor | Chief Minister |
|---|---|---|
| Who appoints | The President, by warrant under hand and seal (Article 155) | The Governor (Article 164) |
| Term | Holds office during the pleasure of the President; normally 5 years (Article 156) | Holds office during the pleasure of the Governor, but in practice as long as the Assembly majority lasts |
| Minimum age | 35 years (Article 157) | 25 years (must be, or become within 6 months, a member of the state legislature) |
| Oath given by | Chief Justice of the state High Court (or senior-most judge) (Article 159) | The Governor |
| Role | Constitutional (nominal) head of the state | Real executive head; heads the Council of Ministers (Article 163) |
| One person, two states? | Yes, one person can be Governor of two or more states (Article 153, 7th Amendment, 1956) | No |
Women Governors and Chief Ministers in 2026
- Chief Ministers: Rekha Gupta (Delhi) is the only woman among India's 31 Chief Ministers (28 states + 3 UTs) in this list.
- Governors: Anandiben Patel (Uttar Pradesh) and Dr. Sudha Yadav (Karnataka, from October 2026). Sudha Yadav is Karnataka's second woman Governor after V.S. Ramadevi (1999-2002).
Governors and Chief Ministers 2026 MCQs (Practice Set)
Q1. Who was appointed Governor of Karnataka on 12 October 2026? (a) Anandiben Patel (b) Dr. Sudha Yadav (c) Thaawarchand Gehlot (d) Kiran Bedi Answer: (b). Dr. Sudha Yadav, who replaced Thaawarchand Gehlot.
Q2. Om Prakash Mathur, appointed Governor of Keralam in October 2026, was earlier Governor of: (a) Tamil Nadu (b) Odisha (c) Sikkim (d) Uttarakhand Answer: (c). Sikkim.
Q3. Who is the new Governor of Sikkim? (a) Braj Mohan Ram (b) Dushyant Gautam (c) Dhal Singh Bisen (d) Gurmit Singh Answer: (b). Dushyant Gautam.
Q4. Who was appointed Governor of Odisha in October 2026? (a) Kambhampati Hari Babu (b) Braj Mohan Ram (c) Raghubar Das (d) Ganeshi Lal Answer: (b). Braj Mohan Ram.
Q5. Who is the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 2026? (a) M.K. Stalin (b) Edappadi K. Palaniswami (c) C. Joseph Vijay (d) Udhayanidhi Stalin Answer: (c). C. Joseph Vijay of TVK, sworn in on 10 May 2026.
Q6. Who became the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal? (a) Dilip Ghosh (b) Suvendu Adhikari (c) Sukanta Majumdar (d) Samik Bhattacharya Answer: (b). Suvendu Adhikari, sworn in in May 2026.
Q7. Who is the Governor of Uttarakhand after the October 2026 changes? (a) Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd.) (b) Dr. Dhal Singh Bisen (c) Baby Rani Maurya (d) Dushyant Gautam Answer: (b). Dr. Dhal Singh Bisen.
Q8. Under which Article does the President appoint the Governor of a state? (a) Article 153 (b) Article 155 (c) Article 163 (d) Article 164 Answer: (b). Article 155.
Q9. Who is the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh in 2026? (a) Kavinder Gupta (b) B.D. Mishra (c) Vinai Kumar Saxena (d) Manoj Sinha Answer: (c). Vinai Kumar Saxena.
Q10. Which Union Territory does NOT have a Chief Minister? (a) Delhi (b) Puducherry (c) Jammu and Kashmir (d) Ladakh Answer: (d). Ladakh has no legislature, so no Chief Minister.
Q11. Who is the Governor of West Bengal in 2026? (a) C.V. Ananda Bose (b) R.N. Ravi (c) Jagdeep Dhankhar (d) La. Ganesan Answer: (b). R.N. Ravi.
Q12. Who is the Chief Minister of Karnataka in October 2026? (a) Siddaramaiah (b) D.K. Shivakumar (c) Basavaraj Bommai (d) H.D. Kumaraswamy Answer: (b). D.K. Shivakumar.
Governors and Chief Ministers 2026 FAQs
Who are the new Governors appointed on 12 October 2026?
Om Prakash Mathur (Keralam), Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar (Tamil Nadu), Braj Mohan Ram (Odisha), Dr. Sudha Yadav (Karnataka), Dr. Dhal Singh Bisen (Uttarakhand) and Dushyant Gautam (Sikkim), as per the Rashtrapati Bhavan communique of 12.10.2026.
Who is the current Governor of Tamil Nadu?
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. He held additional charge of Tamil Nadu while Governor of Keralam, and on 12 October 2026 was appointed full-time Governor of Tamil Nadu.
Who is the current Governor of Kerala (Keralam)?
Om Prakash Mathur, appointed on 12 October 2026. He was earlier Governor of Sikkim.
How many Chief Ministers are there in India?
31: one each for the 28 states and the Union Territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry.
Who appoints the Governor and the Chief Minister?
The President appoints the Governor (Article 155). The Governor appoints the Chief Minister (Article 164).
Who is the only woman Chief Minister in India in 2026?
Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister of Delhi.
Can one person be Governor of two states?
Yes. Article 153, as amended by the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956, allows one person to be Governor of two or more states.
Practice Next
- Mock tests: SSC CGL Polity Mock Test 01, SSC CGL Current Affairs Mock Test October 2026, IBPS & SBI PO Current Affairs Mock Test Sept 2026.
- Exam details: SSC CGL 2026.
- States and Capitals of India 2026
- Daily current affairs and current affairs October 2026
- Daily current affairs quiz
- All static GK lists on study notes
Sources: President of India: Press Communique, 12.10.2026, Akashvani News, 12 Oct 2026, Wikipedia: 2026 in India (state governments), Veranda Race: CMs and Governors list, October 2026, The Hindu: Karnataka gets its second woman Governor.