Keralam Governor-designate Om Prakash Mathur arrived in the State capital on Thursday night, ahead of his swearing-in ceremony at the Lok Bhavan on Friday (October 23, 2026).

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V.V. Rajesh, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator and former Union Minister V. Muraleedharan were among those who received Mr. Mathur at the technical area of the Air Force Station in Thiruvananthapuram.

Expressing immense happiness at arriving in the State for the first time, he called Keralam ‘God’s Own Country’, which is blessed with natural beauty and the glory of its traditions. In his first reaction, he added that he was beginning a new journey in this land of love and harmony, official sources said.

Oath of office

Chief Justice of Kerala High Court Soumen Sen will administer the oath of office to the Governor-designate at the swearing-in ceremony that will be held at the Lok Bhavan auditorium on Friday.

Mr. Mathur, who was previously Governor of Sikkim, hails from Bedal village in Pali district of Rajasthan. He graduated from Rajasthan University and entered public life as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Pracharak, according to a Lok Bhavan release.

He was also Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary in-charge of Gujarat and an MP from Rajasthan. Mr. Mathur will succeed Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar, who has been appointed the Governor of Tamil Nadu.