BJP widens reach in Kmr, says ‘1 lakh members registered in last four months’

 Srinagar, Jan 15 (KNS): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday claimed to have successfully registered one lakh members from Kashmir valley in the last four months.

 
The party said that it also plans to engage in several confidence-building measures in coming weeks to increase support in the region.
 
 “Since the abrogation of Article 370, the membership drive is going on successfully in Kashmir and people including political activists of other parties are feeling proud to join the BJP,” BJP general secretary (organization) Ashok Koul said.
 
He said that the party has 7 lakh registered members in the entire state. “Though it was difficult to register members online due to non-availability of internet, but the party cadre managed to enroll one lakh offline members in the valley,” he said.
 
“Currently, we have seven lakh registered members in the party. However, we are planning to add 12 lakh more, so that everyone who voted for us in the parliament elections is a permanent member of the party,” Koul said.
 
Meanwhile talking to KNS, BJP’s national vice president and in-charge Kashmir affairs, Avinash Rai Khanna also said that party’s Kashmir unit is feeling contended over the great response shown by the people of Kashmir.  “We are satisfied with the way, people are joining us. We are hopeful that at the booth level, constituency level and also at the district level, our vote bank is increasing with each passing day,” he said.
 
The development comes at a time when the Valley is facing internet gag following the Centre's decision to revoke provisions of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
 
In the last local bodies polls, 1,200 BJP candidates won Sarpanch posts in the Valley.
 
The party leader Altaf Thakur claimed that BJP’s Kashmir unit was getting overwhelming response in Kashmir from every district.
 
He said that in the restive south Kashmir, response to the membership drive was encouraging. “People of all thoughts are joining BJP given its clear agenda,” he said.
 
Pertinently, BJP top brass had directed the party officials to ensure all the 17 lakh people who voted for the party across the State in the Parliamentary polls, where BJP bagged two seats in Jammu and one in Ladakh, are brought to the party fold through membership drive.
 
The total BJP membership in J&K before the Lok Sabha elections was 5, 20,959.
 
According to party’s  previous official data, south Kashmir has the highest number of BJP workers in the valley with 1.30 lakh members.
 
The Anantnag district tops the list in south Kashmir with 62,000 BJP members. In Kulgam BJP has 25,000 members, in Pulwama the party has managed to register 18,000 members.
 
Similarly, in Shopian and Tral, the BJP has managed to enlist 14,000 and 8,000 members in the party. In central Kashmir, BJP has 1.17 lakh members.
 
Srinagar district with 52,000 members is leading in the membership drive in central Kashmir.
 
In north Kashmir, BJP has 90,000 members in the party with Baramulla constituency recording the highest membership drive with 13,000 members.
 
Among 3.37 lakh members in Kashmir, around 11,000 are active BJP members who are either office bearers or grass roots workers.
 
Sources said that BJP had employed 26 IT professionals in the state who work all day long to register new members into the party ranks.
 
Pertinently, in 2014 Assembly polls, the BJP failed to open its account in Kashmir but won 25 seats from Jammu region alone. However, in the LokSabha polls, the BJP swept the elections in Jammu by winning both parliamentary seats and also the Ladakh seat. The BJP claimed that 17 lakh people voted party’s favour and it was going to emerge as a single largest party in the next Assembly polls. (KNS)

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