The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set out on a heavy membership drive for 2024- Sangathan Parv: Sadasyata Abhiyan. Going beyond just the numbers for the party, this membership campaign reflects its emergence into another device through which it will exhibit itself as a political and a social movement. Launched on September 2, the campaign has seen more than 4 crore people enroll themselves as its members in less than three weeks, a true indicator of the strong beginning towards the grand target of reaching 10 crore members by the year-end. However, the drive has achieved a record-breaking milestone, surpassing the 11 crore mark on November 17, 2024. This has added massively to the achievement of unprecedented magnitude and also consolidated its ability to be connected with people all over the length and breadth of the country to build itself closer to the organization.
The BJP is bringing in online portals and mobile applications to ease membership entry processes. This could prove very significant in urban centers with a younger population that prefers to participate digitally. This is all about how the BJP understands contemporary communication trends and adapts what used to be called grassroots building. Some of the major drivers of membership increases in BJP are the appealing images of party leaders-especially those of Narendra Modi. The image of Narendra Modi as a leader who knows what he wants to do and how he plans to do it resonates across a broad spectrum-from the rural farmer to the business-savvy corporate employee. His speeches are characterized by simplicity combined with inspirational messaging, which has permitted the BJP to bypass the boundaries of traditional voters and become the symbol of Indian nationalism and pride.
Apart from this, another significant feature is the BJP’s welfare governing. PM-KISAN, Ayushman Bharat, and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana schemes have reached millions and awakened feelings of nostalgia and loyalty among the beneficiaries. The BJP has effectively delivered these messages using grassroots messaging so that they will be heard even in the most remote areas. Another factor in the BJP’s favour is culture and ideology. The commitment of the BJP to the culture of India-from its traditions through its languages to its history-has dovetailed with the growing inclination of citizens to pride in their culture. Incorporating the different regional narratives into the national agenda has ramped up the party’s appeal and also made it a unifying force among various communities.
The training of youth is yet another means of recruitment to the party. The party involves young people in leadership positions, skills training workshops, and digital campaigns. This actually gives the youth a sense of forming a vision and attachment, which is very important in the long run. Women are also included in the outreach agenda of the BJP. The party’s focus on the safety, education, and economic empowerment of women has worked well with audiences. Such welfare schemes as Ujjwala Yojana and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao are perceived as real instances of the BJP’s commitment to bettering the lives of women, and hence, have appealed to many to join the bandwagon. One more unique thing which sets the BJP apart is its organizational strength. The party runs an engine of well-oiled directionless volunteers, puaryakartas, who run and spread the message tirelessly. They are volunteers, but they are also foot soldiers as much as brand ambassadors to bring authenticity and local flavor to BJP campaigns.
The economic aspect has also contributed to the joining of people by BJP. Infrastructure development, industrial growth, and financial inclusion as the party’s focus have instilled hope regarding the future of the Indian economy. Thus, entrepreneurs and professionals see the BJP as a party that supports growing businesses and generating jobs. Regional leadership within the BJP further boosts the membership campaign. The likes of Yogi Shri Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh and Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam possess a good status in their states and attract members under their governance model and charisma. The combination of being able to identify attributes to local issues while standing for the BJP’s national vision has worked wonders for these personalities. When there is no party that says anything particularly close to a shared vision or credible leadership, the BJP becomes the default option for large numbers. That’s how it highlights the importance of organizing coherence and clarity of purpose in modern politics.
The visits and addresses of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on global platforms set the BJP as a modern yet rooted party, appealing for Indians and the diaspora to wish a see India as a world leader. The BJP develops a support base, convincing the masses with a mega membership drive, preparing them for campaigning at the grassroots level. It indicates that the party intends to build progressively for the long haul and not for the one-time prize. One of the more amusing aspects of this had been the variety of their recruits: first-time voters, senior citizens; applying for membership did not care for age, class boundaries, or regional boundaries. So, while it is strength for the party as all-inclusive, it is a challenge because it has a lot of expectations that could come from a wider reach.
It has been a powerful tool of communication for the BJP, and has proven crucial for its electoral fortunes. Like how it uses old and new media-a mix between traditional and digital-to reach its audience, for example; it can be found on WhatsApp groups of villages but in cities on a Twitter campaign. The Grassroots mobilization is the foundation of BJP’s membership drive. Local leaders and volunteers organize events, distribute literature, and undergo a one-on-one approach with individuals to persuade them into joining the party. This has been highly effective in converting the skeptics into supporters. The BJP gets a leg up, too, with its ideological clarity. The clarity in vision that a nation must be strong, self-reliant India finds resonance with the public getting weary of fragmented and nebulous political narratives.
(Author is Professor of Comparative Literature AUS. Email: [email protected])
