BJP’s membership drive in Kashmir meets with huge success

As many as 1.5 lakh people joined the party in just one month in the Valley.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which failed to open its account in the Kashmir valley in last year’s Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections has witnessed a remarkable upsurge in public engagement through its recently concluded membership drive.
According to the party’s internal data, the BJP registered a staggering 8.5 lakh primary memberships in just a month, along with an additional 13,000 active members added to its cadre base.

Talking to The Sunday Guardian, Ashok Koul, General Secretary (Org) BJP J&K said, “We started the primary membership drive in November last year and completed this drive in December. In just one month, the party registered 8.5 lakh primary membership. Out of this, 7 lakh were registered in Jammu, while 1.5 lakh were in the Kashmir valley.”
This massive response from the people of Kashmir is a testament to their growing faith in the BJP’s ideology and its commitment to delivering on its promises, he said.
The numbers are particularly notable given the BJP’s past struggles in the Valley, where it has historically faced stiff opposition.

According to the statistics, the party registered more than 50,000 memberships in Anantnag, more than 20,000 in Srinagar, and more than 10,000 in Baramulla and other areas. Similarly, in the domain of active membership, the party registered 13,000 members in January.
Active membership is crucial as it allows individuals to hold organizational responsibilities, such as becoming office-bearers. The active members are now participating in the party’s ongoing internal elections to choose mandal (block), booth, and district presidents.
“At the moment, we are completing the process of electing mandal, booth and district presidents. By the end of this month, we will complete the process of electing the new state president,” said Ashok Koul.

It is pertinent to note that the BJP bagged 29 seats out of a total of 90 seats in Jammu Kashmir assembly elections and emerged as the largest opposition party.
Although, it failed to win any seat in the Kashmir valley, but the BJP improved its vote share from 22% in 2014 to over 25% and increased its seat tally from 25 to 29 in the assembly elections.