49 lakh membership target a tall order for Punjab BJP, says ex-chief

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 27

The target of registering more than 49 lakh members for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab in the membership drive, to be launched by Prime Minister Narender Modi on September 2, is a very tall order, said a former state president while talking to The Tribune here today. The party had 23 lakh registered party workers in the state in 2014 and 28 lakh in 2018.

Requesting anonymity, the former president said the expected numbers were relevant in the context that the BJP has set a target of enrolling at least 200 members from every polling booth and the state has 24,689 booths. This will take the total number to more than 49 lakh. The expected membership total is high because our party is still trying to find its base in many parts of the state. We contested the Vidhan Sabha elections in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal till 2022.

At the same time, the state in-charge of the membership drive Manoranjan Kalia said: “While preparing our workers in special training sessions for the membership drive during the past one week, we have been told that there is a mentionable public inclination towards the BJP. We expect a big rise in the total numbers as compared to the last time.”

Largely, the party is engaging the electronic media to register its members. Those wanting to get their names on the party registers can use the mediums of a QR code, Namo App or the BJP website. They have the option of giving a missed call on 8800002024. Those unable to use any of these options can also approach the party, Kalia said.

The BJP had claimed in 2022 that it was the largest political party in the world with 180 million members.