Membership cost: Lacklustre enrollment response from MPs and MLAs pegs BJP back as polls loom
Lucknow: Despite directives from the BJP’s top leadership, the party’s ongoing membership drive has met a lukewarm response from its elected representatives. During the first phase of the campaign, from September 2 to 25, several MPs and MLAs struggled to meet their membership enrollment targets, with some failing to sign up even
500 new members.
BJP state president Bhupendra Chaudhary, without naming anyone, issued a stern warning to underperforming representatives, urging them to meet their targets by the second phase deadline of October 15. The party had set an ambitious goal of enrolling 10,000 new members per MP and MLA.
A review meeting was held on Monday at Lucknow’s Visvesvaraya Auditorium to assess the campaign’s progress. The report, presented by state general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh, revealed that 15 MLAs enrolled fewer than 500 members, while 35 MLAs fell short of enrolling 5,000 members. On the MP side, two MPs enrolled fewer than 500 members and five failed to reach the 1,000-member mark.
Despite the underperformances, the BJP has so far managed to enroll 1.70 crore new members against the target of 2 crore. The meeting noted that 35 districts had exceeded 1.5 lakh enrollments, while 10 districts crossed 1 lakh. However, several assembly constituencies are yet to reach even 10,000 enrollments.
Dharampal Singh highlighted the target of enrolling 200 members per booth, though many booths have not yet reached 100 members. While the report kept the names of underperforming MPs and MLAs confidential, concerns were raised about Kanpur’s poor performance. Bhupendra Chaudhary expressed disappointment and reprimanded Anoop Gupta, the Kanpur region in-charge and state general secretary.
In light of the weak response, the party has reduced the requirement for becoming an active member from enrolling 100 regular members to 50. Chaudhary also urged party workers to focus on enrolling more members from backward classes, Dalit communities, and women.
Presentations from top-performing district BJP presidents were given during the meeting. Hardoi BJP President Ajit Singh and Agra BJP President Bhanu reported daily monitoring of the campaign in their respective districts.
As it became evident during the meeting that several MLAs had underperformed, many slipped out under the pretext of drinking water or answering nature’s call. Some ministers and MLAs did not attend the meeting altogether, despite the mandatory attendance directive from the party.
