43 new Union Ministers to embark on 300-400 km long 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' after August 15

In a big move, BJP president JP Nadda directed 43 newly inducted Union Ministers to embark on a 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' immediately after August 15. The new inductees into the Union Council of Ministers include Narayan Rane, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Bhupender Yadav, Pashupati Paras, Anupriya Patel, Meenakshi Lekhi, Kapil Patil, Ajay Bhatt, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Virendra Kumar and Shobha Karandlaje. The details of the mass outreach programme have been explained in a letter sent to the respective Ministers.

They have to cover a distance of 300-400 km during the course of the Yatra from August 16-17 and August 19-20. Moreover, the Ministers have to plan their schedule in such a way that they visit a minimum of 3-4 Lok Sabha constituencies and 4-5 districts. The saffron party has asked them to include visits to religious places and the homes of famous saints, activists, social workers,  litterateurs, national and international players and the kin of martyrs. 

Nadda has also directed them to use the banners propagating the welfare schemes of the Centre pertaining to social and health issues, employment and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. As per the party, all COVID-19 related protocols will be followed in the 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' which shall be flagged off from near Railway Station or airports. For the effective coordination of the outreach programme, BJP has named in-charges for different states. 

Here are the respective in-charges: 

• Tarun Chugh- Delhi and Uttar Pradesh
• Arvind Menon- Bihar, Rajasthan and Tripura
• Vinod Sonkar- Jharkhand and Gujarat
• M Chuba- Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
• Sunil Deodhar- Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Manipur and Maharashtra
• Y Satya Kumar- Assam, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal
• Pankaja Munde- Karnataka and Telangana

Union Cabinet reshuffle

In a massive Cabinet reshuffle on July 7, 12 Union Ministers including Thaawarchand Gehlot, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar, Harsh Vardhan and Sadananda Gowda put in their papers. Among the new Ministers, RK Singh, Kiren Rijiju, Anurag Thakur, Hardeep Singh Puri, G Kishan Reddy and Parshottam Rupala were elevated from MoS to Cabinet rank. The strength of PM Modi's team has now increased to 77.

Most importantly, the new Council of Ministers is more representative in terms of caste, religion, region and experience than several other governments in the past. For instance, there are 27 OBC Ministers in the Union Council of Ministers which is the highest representation of this community since Independence. As far as portfolio allocation is concerned, Mansukh Mandaviya, Scindia, Vaishnaw and Dharmendra Pradhan were given charge of the Health, Civil Aviation, IT and Education Ministry respectively.