The BJP failed to meet its internal target on September 25, the last day of the first leg of the membership drive. (Getty)
Sources in the BJP told News18 that despite a concerted effort by senior party leaders up to the Mandal level, the BJP could only register 83 lakh members on September 25 – the birth anniversary of Jan Sangh leader Deen Dayal Upadhyaya – 17 lakh short. internal target
JP Nadda is tired. Behind the benevolent smile, the BJP leader hides his frustration over the party’s failure to meet its internal target of reaching the one-crore membership mark on September 25 – the birth anniversary of Jan Sangh leader Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.
Sources in the BJP told News18 on condition of anonymity that despite a concerted effort by senior party leaders up to the Mandal level, the BJP could only register 83 lakh members on the day – 17 lakh short of its internal target. Coincidentally, September 25 is the last day of the first leg of the membership drive.
STOLEN COUNTRIES
At least two states ruled by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are included in the list of states that have performed well, BJP sources said. One is Rajasthan, where the BJP won 115 seats in December last year, ousting the Congress. The state managed to register only 26 lakh members at the end of the first leg against the set target of over 55 lakh.
Another state is Bihar where BJP is in power in alliance with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U). The state BJP, which saw Dilip Jaiswal take over the reins from Samrat Chowdhury this July, could only register nearly 32 lakh members against its target of 65 lakh.
Other states such as Telangana, where the BJP’s organizational strength is weak, can only register 10 lakh members. After the poor show, Nadda pulled out the state unit, including MPs and MLAs from the state, and asked them to target over 77 lakh members. In a worst-case scenario, he has set a target of 50 lakh members after he recently participated in a BJP member registration program at Harita Plaza. He is also believed to have told the leaders that the figure of the members will determine the position of the party. He also held a closed-door meeting in Patna where he is believed to have chosen not only the Bihar BJP president and deputy chief minister, but also the party’s MLAs and MLCs.
In a closed-door meeting in Rajasthan, BJP General Secretary (Organization) BL Santhosh expressed his frustration over Rajasthan’s poor performance and sounded alarm bells not only for the state’s top leadership, but every BJP MP and MLA, slamming the “indifferent attitude”.
YOGI’S UP, HIMANTA’S ASSAM shows the way
While Bihar, Telangana, and Rajasthan are lagging behind in the membership drive, states like Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh and Himanta Biswa Sarma’s Assam have shown how the task needs to be done. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home turf Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Assam together account for the most members so far – 3 crore.
UP leads the chart with 1.5 crore members alone, setting a benchmark for other states. However, BJP sources said that despite the leadership, Uttar Pradesh could not achieve the target of two crore that had been set in the review meeting.
“Uttar Pradesh is a big state and the party’s national leadership has faith in Yogi-ji’s organization and leadership. That’s why the ambitious target was set for us. In the second leg, we are confident of reaching two crore,” said a BJP official.
Both MP and Gujarat are sitting at second and third place with almost no difference. Both countries have achieved 75 percent of the target. To put it into context, UP, despite being number 1, managed to achieve 65 percent of its target.
The BJP’s popular face in the North East, Sarma, has ensured the registration of 50 lakh members against the target of 65 lakh.
Among smaller states, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh exceeded expectations. Of these, Himachal is the only Congress-ruled state showing early signs of an anti-establishment mood amid the Grand Old Party’s decision to boycott the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
