Bharatiya Janata Party working president JP Nadda has set a target of enrolling 36 lakh new members in Uttar Pradesh in the membership drive launched on Saturday.
He said that efforts should be made to increase the target to 50 lakh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally launched the BJP membership drive from Varanasi on Saturday.
Nadda, who arrived in Lucknow on Friday evening on his first visit to the state after being appointed national working president of the party, held a marathon meeting with BJP national secretary (organisation) Shiv Prasad, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP’s UP in-charge Sunil Bansal, Union Minister and party state chief Mahendra Nath Pandey and Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, late in the night.
Former Union Minister Kalraj Misra was a special invitee at the meeting.
The party discussed the success of pre-poll programmes such as ‘Mera Parivar, BJP Parivar’ and ‘Mera booth, sabse mazboot’ as well as community-wise restructuring of party cells and ‘sabhas’ from booth to top level.
“At present, the BJP has 1.8 crore members in UP and our intention is to register 20 per cent more or 36 lakh, new members. I would like to see this number go up to 50 lakh,” Nadda said.
The membership drive is being billed as a big event by the party ahead of bypolls to 12 UP Assembly seats. The BJP has drawn plans to utilise the opportunity to sustain the momentum generated by the success in the Lok Sabha election till 2022 UP Assembly elections.
Sources in the BJP said Nadda made it clear to everyone that relatives of legislators who have been elected to the Lok Sabha will not be considered for tickets in the by-elections.
He thanked party workers for their hard work, saying their zeal had created an atmosphere in BJP’s favour in the recent Lok Sabha elections and converted it into votes leading to the historic victory.
The party leaders are expected to discuss the upcoming bypolls to 12 UP Assembly seats.
Eleven of them fell vacant after the MLAs were elected to Lok Sabha in the recent parliamentary elections.
On the second day of his UP visit, Nadda went to Varanasi to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday for the launch of the BJP membership drive.
Meanwhile, the membership drive was launched in all major cities of UP with the slogan ‘Sarv Sparshi BJP, Sarv Vyapi BJP’ under the leadership of party leaders and ministers.
BJP vice-president and in-charge of membership drive, JPS Rathor, said here on Saturday that party office-bearers and ministers launched the membership drive in all districts and enrolled new members in large number.