Amit Shah’s estimation of his party strength has varied, from 9 crore members to 8 crore. This, after a 2015 declaration of 11-crore party members.
New Delhi: At least two to three crore members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have gone missing. Or so it seems from party president Amit Shah’s speeches at the national executive meetings on 8 and 9 September.
Speaking on Saturday, Shah said there were 8 crore BJP members but he changed it to 9 crore in his speech the following day, while emphasising on the need to reach out to 22 crore families ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
In March 2015, the BJP had claimed that it had become the largest party in the world by enrolling 8.8 crore members, leaving behind the Communist Party of China.
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In July that year, Shah said that 11 crore members of the party would be made partners in nation-building.
Early this month, BJP Mahila Morcha president Vijaya Rahatkar was quoted as saying that of 12 crore members of the BJP, 3 crore were women.
In April, party leader Ali Mohammad Mir had said in Srinagar that the BJP was the world’s largest party with over 14 crore members.
So, what’s the exact strength of the ruling party of India?
A BJP spokesman said the total number of members enrolled was 11 crore, of whom 2 crore have “not been verified” yet. He attributed Shah’s initial figure of 8 crore to “a slip of the tongue”.
Confusion over numbers
There is obviously confusion in the BJP about its exact strength as party leaders, including Shah, keep quoting different numbers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched an online membership drive in November 2014 by dialling a mobile number to become the first member.
The subsequent months witnessed more celebrations in the ruling party as it went on to become the largest party in the world.
Shah wears it as a feather in his cap as he keeps repeating the enrolment numbers on different fora.
While electoral victories have been attributed to Modi’s charismatic appeal, Shah has earned kudos for strengthening the organisation and turning it into a ‘fighting machine’.
More confusing signs
It was not just the membership numbers that got the BJP’s national executive members confused.
On Saturday, as many delegates kept talking about Kerala flood relief work, Shah was learnt to have intervened and said the BJP was “not an NGO” that everyone should harp on just one issue.
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Delegates should move on to other subjects also, confided a leader present at the meeting. On Sunday, though, the Prime Minister told the delegates that they should focus more on “social service” to reach out to the people.