New Delhi: Exhorting the BJP karyakartas to “challenge the challenges”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday gave tips to the party cadre on how to enroll members during the “Sangathan Parva Sadasyata Abhiyan 2024”, kickstarted by the party on Monday. Mr Modi became the first BJP member to renew his membership and was enrolled as the first member by BJP president J.P. Nadda at an event at the party headquarters’ annexe. Mr Modi said the membership drive was not just a “karamkaand (ritual)” but an occasion to expand the BJP family and is an “ideological and emotional movement.” BJP president JP Nadda renewed Mr Modi’s membership at an event at the party headquarters where Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh also renewed their membership along with the PM. Mr Modi also took a swipe at Opposition parties, saying that many of them are examples of what happens when political organisations do not follow internal democracy.
Mr Modi hoped that this membership drive will break all records. During the previous membership drive in 2014, the BJP overtook the Communist Party of China (CPC) as the world’s largest political party when it crossed the 11 crore mark. During the BJP membership drive held every six years, existing memberships are renewed and new members are enrolled into its fold. The party has set a target of 10 crore new members.
“This very membership drive is not just a ritual, it’s an expansion of our family… membership is not just a numbers game… this membership drive is an ideological and emotional movement,” said the PM while addressing the party leaders and workers after renewing his membership.
Mr Modi hailed the BJP as the only political organisation which follows the party’s constitution. He said the BJP was not just the world's largest political party but also the most democratic party, and no other party holds its membership drive with such transparency and honesty as the BJP.
“The BJP is the only party which is expanding its work by strictly following the democratic process as per the party constitution and is continuously making itself capable to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of common people… the organisation or political party through which people give power, that unit, that organisation, that party… if it does not follow democratic values, if internal democracy doesn’t live in it then the situation arises which is faced by several other political parties today,” said Mr Modi.
Giving suggestions to the party leaders and cadre as how to make the membership drive special, Mr Modi said special drive should be started at “aspirational districts and blocks” in the states and also in villages in border areas. He suggested a special membership drive in villages across the border of two states where party karyakartas from both states should participate to showcase “Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat”. Mr Modi also asked the BJP cadre to focus more on enrolling women and reiterated his government’s commitment of 33 per cent reservations for women.
“During this membership drive, the organisational structure will be taking up shape and at the same period, 33 per cent reservations would have been implemented in the state Assemblies and Lok Sabha. If this 33 per cent reservations for women is going to come in this period, then will I include all those people in my membership campaign, who can make the maximum number of women victorious and make them MLAs, MPs in such an important decision of my party?" the PM asked the karyakartas.
He also suggested that the BJP karyakartas should take it as a challenge to enroll the maximum number of people from polling booths where the party gets least number of votes.
“It is easy to gain numbers where the BJP is popular but we must work harder in challenging areas to spread our influence and gain support… For the BJP karyakarta, chunauti ko chunauati dena unki ragon main hain (to challenge the challenges is in the vein). Go to booths where the BJP gets minimum votes and enroll,” said the PM.
Earlier, addressing party leaders and workers, Union home minister Amit Shah said that BJP membership was not just a number and the karyakartas are a “living entity, carrying forward our ideology and work culture. They also serve as crucial link between the government and the organisation, keeping the government connected with the people. It is through this connection that we aim to realise the dream of a strong and prosperous India”. Recalling the party’s evolution from the Bharatiya Jan Sangh days till the present, Mr Shah said that in every election we have challenged opponents with the “Bharat Mata ki Jai” slogan.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh said while other political parties focus solely on forming the government, “as BJP workers I want to emphasise that we engage in politics to build society and develop the country”.
