BJP has enlisted no fewer than 10 million new members in the last four months alone; that's almost a lakh every day

 

The BJP has enlisted no fewer than 10 million new members in the last four months alone; that's almost a lakh every day. 

The most significant part of the BJP's explosively growing ranks is that a fifth of the new members are active volunteers; almost twice the strength of the Indian Army. 

A series of clever initiatives launched by the party to spread the 'Narendra Modi for Prime Minister' message in the afterglow of the impressive saffron performance in the Assembly elections of December 2013 is behind this manpower miracle.

Among BJP's initiatives were 'Mission 272+', 'NaMo for PM', and 'One Note One Vote', and more recently 'Chai Pe Charcha'. The fresh 10 million saffron volunteers take the total count to about three crore, and growing. 

BJP president Rajnath Singh said
  "There is a lot of excitement among people as the BJP is all set to win this election under the leadership of Narendra Modi. People in large numbers have pledged support to the party through online and on-ground initiatives and this has given major boost to the party." 

Speaking about the BJP's initiatives, BJP president Rajnath Singh said that the "main objective is to reach out to maximum number of people, and the volunteers have helped a lot in this regard. They have become strong footsoldiers of the party to accomplish Mission 272+." 

Senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar - whose faceoff with Infosys founder Nandan Nilekani of the Congress in Bangalore South is one of the most keenly-watched contests of the elections said
 "Our objective is to reach every household and spread the message of 10 years of Congress misrule. It is clear that people want change, and rise in BJP membership is only an indication that an electoral tsunami is sweeping across the country." 

All these initiatives were launched after the saffron party registered victory in three states. The party wanted to capitalise on the prevailing mood of the country and launched 'Mission 272+', strategically linking it with the 'NaMo for PM' message that reverberated nationwide.

Various membership drives were launched wherein people could become members even after giving a missed call. There were programmes like 'One Vote, One Note' under which BJP workers could collect funds from people as low as Rs 10 to a maximum of Rs 1,000 for the campaign. 

Arvind Gupta, head of party's IT wing, said
  "Over one crore people have become members under India 272+ initiative of the BJP. Out of them about 20 lakh people are working actively for the party reaching out to voters. The members are from across the country."

Similarly, there are various groups of volunteers whose job is to seek and harness best expertise in varied fields, collaborate with other like-minded volunteers and join group discussions. Moreover, every group has specialised tasks, based on the nature of the Group.

Every volunteer contributes; based on his or her skills, time and location. The mantra is: 'Take up Tasks; Let your Creativity Bloom and Strength to Mission 272+