New Delhi: With technology playing an important role in the ruling BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first BJP leader to have his party’s membership renewed through a new online process that will be launched on November 1.
The BJP’s membership drive, also including renewal of memberships, titled “Sashakt Bhajpa, Sashakt Bharat (strong BJP, strong India)” and “Saath aayein, desh banayein (come together, build the country),” will be launched by party president Amit Shah.
The PM will renew his membership through this new process by making a call on a registration number to initiate the renewal process. Mr Shah would be the second BJP leader to renew his membership. New members will also have to go through the same process.
BJP members have to renew their membership after every six years. The nationwide drive is aimed to strengthen the party’s organisation across the country.
BJP general secretary J.P. Nadda said the BJP aims to “break all records” in enrolling new members in the six-month long drive as the party seeks to strengthen its base following its unprecedented victories in the Lok Sabha elections as well as the recent Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.
The party presently has 3.25 crore members, though not all of them are active workers. For the first time, the saffron party has introduced the use of mobile and Internet for people to become a party member.
As per the BJP’s constitution, the party generally seeks to increase its members by 20 per cent during the drive, which is launched every sixth year, but this time it will work to “break all previous records”.
“We will launch this drive in all sectors and all sections of the society... academicians, colleges, universities, bar councils, health sector, traders, industrial areas, religious places, theatre groups, among others,” said Mr Nadda.
Though he accepted that there is no screening process for new members but maintained that it is a “long process” to become an “active member” of the party from “primary member.” He also said that every new member is contacted by the BJP worker till the booth level, where the BJP workers gets to know about the new member.
The membership drive, however, will not be launched in poll-bound states of Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir, where it will begin only after the assembly elections.
BJP will hold three workshops in Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata on October 29, 30 and 31 and similar exercises would be held at the state-level as well. While Bangalore would cater to south and west Indian states besides the UTs, Delhi would host central India states and Kolkata the eastern states. States will start membership drive from November 2.
