UP BJP enrols 10 lakh members in 3 days. Really?
The BJP may be passing through its worst phase nationally, but its Uttar Pradesh unit claims to have logged an achievement to make any party leader’s chest balloon with pride.
The BJP may be passing through its worst phase nationally, but its Uttar Pradesh unit claims to have logged an achievement to make any party leader’s chest balloon with pride. The party’s state president, Ramapati Ram Tripathi, claims the party enrolled 10 lakh new members in three days. But serious doubts remain with even BJP leaders not buying the huge figure.
And detractors, looking forward to Tripathi’s exit this year-end, say the figures were fudged. But Tripathi rules out such suspicions. “It’s no big deal… this was a special membership drive and most of our senior party leaders fanned out throughout the state to achieve this target,” he told DNA. “It was a well-planned drive… senior leaders went out, all leaders and workers down the line participated whole-heartedly,” he said.
But a senior BJP leader insisting on anonymity said, “At a time when the party workers’ morale is at its lowest, the party has been losing ground, and a war of sorts is going on among the top leadership. It’s difficult to believe that such overwhelming support could come our way.”
Not to be left behind, Congress leaders, too, are mocking at the BJP’s self-proclaimed “achievement”. UP Congress spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi said, “The BJP lost its deposit in two of the four assembly by-elections and in Moradabad West, which it had won in 2007, it ended third (in the bypoll). The BJP is perpetually going down. Its claim is simply unbelievable.”
A BJP detractor pointed out that the party had got 17.50% of the vote share in the Lok Sabha election in UP. That works out to little less than 1 crore votes, considering that there were about 11 crore voters and there had been 45% average polling. “Ten lakh new members means a 10 per cent increase in the party’s vote share now. This is incredible,” he quipped.
Party insiders say the membership drive is a gimmick on the part of Tripathi, who is on his way out. The state organisational election is due this year-end, and Tripathi, a virtual non-entity, is sure to be replaced.
However, Tripathi insists the claim is not without basis. He has his maths neatly worked out. “Even if 100 workers in each of the 400-odd constituencies made 25 members each, the figure of 10 lakh is achieved,” he explains.
He points out that top party leaders, including Kalraj Misra, Vinay Katiyar, Lalji Tandon and Om Prakash Singh had worked hard to achieve the target. But even in the BJP camp, there are few takers for the tall claim.
And detractors, looking forward to Tripathi’s exit this year-end, say the figures were fudged. But Tripathi rules out such suspicions. “It’s no big deal… this was a special membership drive and most of our senior party leaders fanned out throughout the state to achieve this target,” he told DNA. “It was a well-planned drive… senior leaders went out, all leaders and workers down the line participated whole-heartedly,” he said.
But a senior BJP leader insisting on anonymity said, “At a time when the party workers’ morale is at its lowest, the party has been losing ground, and a war of sorts is going on among the top leadership. It’s difficult to believe that such overwhelming support could come our way.”
Not to be left behind, Congress leaders, too, are mocking at the BJP’s self-proclaimed “achievement”. UP Congress spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi said, “The BJP lost its deposit in two of the four assembly by-elections and in Moradabad West, which it had won in 2007, it ended third (in the bypoll). The BJP is perpetually going down. Its claim is simply unbelievable.”
A BJP detractor pointed out that the party had got 17.50% of the vote share in the Lok Sabha election in UP. That works out to little less than 1 crore votes, considering that there were about 11 crore voters and there had been 45% average polling. “Ten lakh new members means a 10 per cent increase in the party’s vote share now. This is incredible,” he quipped.
Party insiders say the membership drive is a gimmick on the part of Tripathi, who is on his way out. The state organisational election is due this year-end, and Tripathi, a virtual non-entity, is sure to be replaced.
However, Tripathi insists the claim is not without basis. He has his maths neatly worked out. “Even if 100 workers in each of the 400-odd constituencies made 25 members each, the figure of 10 lakh is achieved,” he explains.
He points out that top party leaders, including Kalraj Misra, Vinay Katiyar, Lalji Tandon and Om Prakash Singh had worked hard to achieve the target. But even in the BJP camp, there are few takers for the tall claim.