In the current enrolment drive, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set its sights on reaping the maximum membership from the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Union Minister of Environment and Forest Prakash Javadekar, who formally launched the State-level drive here on Sunday, saw an opportunity to increase its presence and ensure penetration into sections hitherto untouched. The regional parties in the two States had expected the BJP to get around 150-180 seats and had thought of meddling with the Centre’s functioning, but the wise voters had swept them away from the reckoning, he said.

The Minister said the opposition party leaders were either going on vacation after the polls or quitting party posts or resorting to blame game, while the BJP got down to enrolment process.

“This is what distinguishes the ‘party with a difference’ (BJP) from the party with differences,” he quipped.

After winning the 2019 general elections with the support of 22 crore voters, the party with a membership base of 11 crore voters, nurtures an ambitious plan to rope in the non-member voters into its fold. This means the target of the drive is to double the number of enrolled members.

Mr. Javadekar called upon party workers to visit every doorstep to bring youth, women, senior citizens, farmers, artisans and workers into the party’s fold. Two lakh party workers entrusted with the task would reach out to the prospective members.

“When the BJP gets strong, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets strong. When Modi gets strong, the government gets strong. When the government is strong, India becomes strong,” he said.

“Only a strong India can pursue the $5 trillion economy dream,” he said. As the Environment minister who planted a sapling earlier, he likened the enrolment process to planting a sapling.

Missed call

The technology-driven process made enrolment easier, as any person wishing to join BJP could simply give a missed call to 8980808080 and follow the link received as SMS. Several enthusiasts and tech-savvy youth became members on the spot and proudly announced their membership number to Mr. Javadekar.

State general secretary V. Satyamurthy, former State president Chilakam Ramachandra Reddy, and district president B. Chandra Reddy were among those present.