Bengaluru, April 3 – The weight and significance of three-fold jump in BJP membership under Amit Shah’s leadership is all set to unburden BJP president of the pressure on him after party’s political decimation in Delhi Assembly elections a month ago.
In fact, BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday got a shot in the arm ahead of party’s National Executive meeting at Bengaluru with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a showpiece of party’s expanded footprint under the leadership of Shah.
Addressing a meeting of party’s national office bearers, state unit chiefs and state organization secretaries on the eve of party’s two day conclave, Modi praised about three-fold jump in party’s membership. The Prime Minister exhorted party leaders to now strive to convert these members into party workers.
“It is good that we have touched 10 crore membership figure… We should now try to convert these members as party workers,” Modi was quoted to have told party leaders on the eve of National Executive meeting starting on Friday.
BJP’s membership which stood little under 3.5 crore last year has jumped to about 10 crore in last few months during a mobile technology driven membership drive of the party since last Novermber.
Prime Minister, however, was learnt to have not mentioned party’s setback in Delhi assembly elections and also avoided the issue of amendments into the land acquisition legislation that has caught the party on the back foot.
Incidentally, Delhi defeat had got party leaders criticizing Shah’s working style in hush-hush tones. Prime Minister’s emphasis on BJP’s successful membership drive under Shah’s leadership today virtually brushed off chances of any scrutiny of party’s electoral set back in Delhi.
Modi, in this backdrop, sought to stress congruity of purpose between the Government and the party and highlighted the need for party workers to spread the works of his government to the grass roots level.
“Party is important and supreme… government is only a tool to achieve what we (BJP parivar) wants to achieve,” Modi was quoted to have also told party office bearers. Prime Minister, in this context, drew attention of party office bearers about the Clean Ganga initiative and Yoga’s international recognition, both of which are also close to saffron parivar’s hearts.
“Clean Ganga campaign should get a boost… there is enormous spiritual strength in the clean Ganga campaign… June 21, the international Yoga day, and it must be taken to each and every village,” Modi exhorted party leaders.
Modi, in fact, sought to suggest that there was similarity in the thinking of Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohiya and saffron parivar’s icon Deen Dayal Upadhyay. “There is not much difference in the thinking of Mahatma Gandhi, Lohia and Deena Dayal Upadhyay.
All of them always thought about the last man,” Modi was quoted to have told party leaders suggesting that party workers should be used for socially constructive purposes over and above their political work during the elections.
Additionally, Prime Minister suggested party office bearers to take the message of his pet schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan more affectively to the grass roots. “We should try to get 10 thousand of 10 crore members exclusively for Sachha Bharat campaign,” Modi was learnt to have suggested.
-INDIA TODAY
