Slow pace of donation drive irks Nadda, sum not even ₹1 cr
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party President JP Nadda is believed to have expressed his displeasure in a meeting with senior leaders on Tuesday, over the progress of a microdonation campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December, which is to end on the death anniversary of Jan Sangh founder Deen Dayal Upadhyay on February 11, according to several leaders familiar with the matter.
The objective of the campaign is to mobilise cadre, with the donations being as small as ₹5. The BJP has 180 million workers, and the campaign, HT learns, has thus far gathered an insignificant sum, not even ₹1 crore.
On Tuesday, Nadda told his office bearers that he expected senior leaders to motivate workers to not just donate but to also use this as an occasion to recruit new members.
The idea, was for senior leaders to motivate workers to not just donate but to also use this as an occasion to recruit new mem“The bers. HT reached out to the BJP president’s office but didn’t receive any response.“Naddaji is not the kind of person to get upset about anything so admittedly there has been a lacunae in this,’’ said national secretary of the party, Anupam Hazra who attended the Tuesday meeting.
“We must take it very seriously and those karyakartas (party workers) who are not active on the ground must become so.’’
Another attendee at the meeting, Tarun Chugh, party’s national general secretary, brushed away concerns. He said that the party would surely meet all targets by next week. “Every one, including the PM, has been involved in this. It is going very well and don’t go by the amount of donation,’’ he said.
BJP has become the worlds largest political party because our karyakartas are actively involved in various initiatives. The micro donation campaign seeks donations from ₹5 to a maximum of ₹1000 per donor. It is not the amount, but the engagement with the public which is important. The campaign is hugely successful,’’ said BJP vice president Jay Panda.
Chugh explained that the drive draws its origin from an old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) tradition where every pracharak or RSS worker would annually give a donation to the Sangh according to their means. Kicking off the drive on Christmas day, Modi tweeted: “I have donated ₹1,000 towards the party fund of the Bharatiya Janata Party... Help make BJP strong. Help make India strong.’’
Other BJP leaders who asked not to be named said that party workers may have been overwhelmed with too many tasks. Still, after Nadda’s comments,leaders are scrambling to make sure the donation drive is a success, they added.