 |
|
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to embark on a significant membership drive starting September 1st, with the aim of bolstering its ranks and preparing for upcoming leadership elections. This ambitious initiative, revealed by BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra, follows a meeting of key party leaders, including state presidents and general secretaries. However, states facing imminent Assembly elections, such as Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana, have been exempted from the drive, as their focus will be on securing electoral victories.
The party's top leadership has emphasized the paramount importance of the upcoming elections in these states, urging party units to engage in vigorous door-to-door campaigns to secure a resounding victory. The BJP, aiming to attract over 10 crore new members, has devised a multi-pronged approach to the drive, allowing individuals to join via missed calls, QR codes, the Namo app, and the party's website. The party is also planning nationwide workshops to educate party workers about the membership drive and its implications.
This membership drive acts as a precursor to the crucial organizational elections that will take place at various levels, from local committees to the Mandal, district, regional, and state levels. The elected presidents at each level will then assemble their own teams of office-bearers. The BJP's constitution dictates that once half the state presidents are elected, the election for the party president will be triggered. While state president elections have occasionally witnessed multiple contenders, the post of national president, which carries a maximum of two consecutive terms of three years each, has never been contested since the party's inception in 1980.
Recent buzz within the party suggests that a working president will be appointed within August, ahead of an RSS coordination meeting in Kerala's Palakkad towards the month-end. This working president, expected to be a figure acceptable to both the BJP and RSS leadership, is likely to assume the full-time role of party president after a few months. The upcoming membership drive and subsequent elections hold significant implications for the BJP's organizational structure and leadership, potentially setting the stage for a new era within the party.
Source: BJP membership drive from Sept 1, stage set for party chief’s election