Maharashtra’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been compelled to extend its primary membership drive deadline twice, as it continues to struggle in reaching its ambitious target of 15.1 million members. With enrollment figures falling short, party leaders have been mobilized across the state in an effort to accelerate the process and ensure the target is achieved within the next 15 days.
The membership campaign, which had been launched on January 5, was initially set to conclude by January 31. However, as the deadline approached, it was observed that the enrollment numbers were significantly lower than expected. This shortfall led to an extension of 15 days. Despite this additional time, the membership count had reached only 10 million with just four days remaining before the revised deadline. As a result, another 15-day extension had to be granted. An article in the Hindustan Times mentioned that in response to the slow progress, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule and working president Ravindra Chavan have been assigned a seven-day tour across the state. Their journey, which has been scheduled to begin in Akola, will cover eastern Vidarbha and Nanded in Marathwada before concluding in Mumbai. Confidence has been expressed by Bawankule that the target will be met within the stipulated period, as positive responses have been reported from various sections of society, including rural communities, urban residents, youth, women, and members of the Dalit and OBC communities.
Delays in the membership drive have been attributed to the Assembly elections that were conducted in Maharashtra in November, which caused the campaign to begin later than in other states. It has been noted that Maharashtra is among the many states where BJP had set a membership goal exceeding 10 million. By February 4, it was found that 9.8 million members had been enrolled, leaving a deficit of 5.3 million to be covered within a mere 11 days. However, despite intensified efforts, only 2 million new members were added over the past week. During an event in Mumbai on February 4, organized to launch the active membership phase, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had acknowledged that membership enrollments tend to slow down after reaching the 10 million mark. He had pointed out that similar trends had been witnessed in other states where comparable targets had been set but had assured that Maharashtra BJP would ultimately achieve its goal.
In addition to Bawankule and Chavan, over 100 senior BJP leaders have been engaged in state-wide travel, working tirelessly and vowing not to return home until the target has been met. According to party officials, the slow progress has been attributed to the rigorous verification process, which has ensured complete transparency and prevented any manipulation of data. Once the 15.1 million membership goal has been achieved, BJP will become the largest political party in Maharashtra. It has been revealed that 1,856 BJP workers have enrolled over 100 members each, while 1,726 volunteers have successfully registered more than 500 members.
Meanwhile, allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding a sudden rise in voter numbers in Kamathi have been dismissed by Bawankule. It had been claimed by Gandhi that a surge of 36,000 new voters had been witnessed in the constituency between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, with all of them allegedly favoring Bawankule. However, it has been clarified by the BJP leader that 15,000 of these votes had, in fact, gone to the Congress candidate. Additionally, it had been pointed out that in Kamathi city, Bawankule had trailed in 75 booths by 17,000 votes. It has been emphasized that BJP has consistently secured victories in the constituency for the past five elections.
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