BJP drive: With 80 lakh new members so far, U.P. leads nation
The BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit leads the national membership drive, enrolling over 80 lakh members, targeting 2 crore, with a focus on professionals and students.
The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as the national leader in the ruling party’s ongoing membership drive, which began on September 2, with the state enrolling the highest number of primary members across the country.
This membership renewal process, conducted every six years, was delayed due to the Covid pandemic, with the last drive taking place in 2014. “Over 80 lakh people have already joined the party as primary members in the state so far, positioning U.P. as the leading contributor in the country,” said state BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary.
He noted that while region-wise data was yet to be analysed, Western UP likely saw the most sign-ups due to its large urban population vis-a-vis other regions. Chairman of the membership campaign committee, Govind Narayan Shukla, highlighted that the U.P. BJP had enrolled 1.83 crore members in 2016.
“This time, we are targeting over 2 crore members. With 80 lakh already on board, U.P. leads the nation, with Gujarat trailing behind,” Shukla said. The first phase of the membership drive will conclude on September 25. Following this, the second phase, starting on October 1, will focus on enrolling professionals, traders, students, and other specific groups.
The drive for active membership will follow, with the party currently having around 1 lakh active members in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP aims to enrol at least 50 primary members per booth across the state’s 1.62 lakh booths. Targets have also been set for all frontal organisations of the party, OBC Morcha, Minority Morcha, Yuva Morcha etc.
“We are visiting schools and colleges to motivate students to take primary membership of the party and the response is quite encouraging,” BJP Yuva Morcha state vice-president Sonu Valmiki said.
Chaudhary said the party would begin organisational polls at all levels after the membership drive concludes as many party bodies in the state have surpassed their three-year term. “We expect to complete the elections up to the state and national levels by the end of 2024,” he said.