Eye on 2017, Shah to pat cadre enrolling maximum members

LUCKNOW: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah has decided to felicitate those party workers who enlist maximum people into the party in the state’s divisons, districts and eight regions during the ongoing membership drive, the party’s state unit chief Laxmikant Bajpai confirmed.

The move by Shah showcases his Uttar Pradesh focus yet again. He had served as the state in-charge during the Lok Sabha elections.

The step is apparently aimed at getting the cadre involved in this exercise through which the BJP is hoping to make 1.5 crore of the estimated 10 crore new members from UP alone. Shah has already declared that having a BJP government in UP is his ‘final goal.’

The BJP’s UP focus is apparent with the appointment of Lucknow mayor and national vice president Dinesh Sharma as the national membership in-charge. “The membership drive is aimed at ensuring that BJP becomes the world’s biggest political party and naturally, UP would contribute a lion’s share towards this end,” Sharma said.

During his recent visit to his Varanasi parliamentary constituency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had encouraged the party cadre to join the membership drive, which includes the first ever digital/online membership campaign under which people can become members by calling on the party’s toll free number as well.

“The Kashi region should top in the membership drive,” the PM had said. For organisational purpose, the BJP has divided the state into eight regions.

Party veteran Om Mathur who took over from Shah as the state in-charge and launched the UP leg of digital membership campaign on Thursday, said the membership campaign would help the party in mission 2017.

Also, the party is looking to overhaul the state organisational structure by May-June and the membership campaign would help towards “this end too”.

The state general secretary Pankaj Singh, who inaugurated a membership workshop for Lucknow, said, “In Lucknow alone we are going to make a record five lakh plus new members. All of us have to work towards making 100 members for each booth.” The party’s youth wing has also decided help in this exercise through membership counters and campaigns targeting colleges and universities. In each UP district, the BJP cadres have been tasked with setting up at least 50 membership camps to help the party achieve its target of enlisting the support of a maximum number of people in the state.

Between November 24 and 30, the BJP also plans to hold district level meetings featuring those members enrolled during the special drive. The BJP leaders estimate that nearly seven lakh members would be made during the special membership drive alone. The regular membership campaign would continue till March.