BJP gets 3.8 crore new members; 55 lakh people join the party in UP alone

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has gained around 3.8 crore new members in its new membership drive, breaking all records and targets it had set out to achieve. 

The party had hoped to add 20% new members as part of the membership drive campaign of the party. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's decision to abrogate Article 370, ending special status of Jammu and Kashmir, has had a tremendous impact on BJP's membership drive campaign. 

A day before the end of the new membership campaign, the number of party members in Uttar Pradesh itself has gone up to 1,80,000 after 55 lakh new members joined the BJP.

Uttar Pradesh had a total of 1,13,00,000 members in 2015. In this membership campaign drive, the state had a target to add 20% or around 22 lakh new members, but the membership drive in the state has broken the record as 55 lakh new members joined the party. 

In the last one and a half months in Delhi, 15 lakh people have joined the BJP which will provide a big boost to the party as national capital heads for Assembly elections in a few months.

Under this campaign, the BJP has added 3.5 lakh new members in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP had set a target of 1 lakh for this state.

The party believes that the membership drive had been affected due to the interruption of internet services in Jammu and Kashmir after Section 370 was abrogated in the state. Due to this, this campaign has been extended till August 25 in the state. The BJP estimates that there will be 12 lakh new members in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh regions.

In other states, the BJP has added 7.14 lakh new members in Haryana, 4.6 lakh in Himachal Pradesh, 5.5 lakh in Punjab and about 10 lakh new members in Uttarakhand.

 Apart from this, 33.73 lakh members have been added to the party in Gujarat, 16.9 lakh in Karnataka, 19.97  in Maharashtra, 20.87 lakh in Rajasthan and 24.53 lakh in Madhya Pradesh.

The BJP runs a membership drive every 6 years and this campaign had a target of adding 20% new members.

The BJP membership drive, which started on July 6, was carried out all over the country with former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan at its helm.

A person could become a member of the party by giving a missed call to a phone number issued by the party. Apart from this. A person could also become a member through the NaMo app.