BJP Drops Punjab from Poll Strategy After Missing 30L Membership Target; Jakhar Likely to Continue

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): Struggling to meet its membership drive goals in Punjab, the BJP has excluded the state from its organizational election schedule which includes 29 other states and Union Territories such as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. According to the BJP constitution, a state president’s election can only proceed once the state has achieved its primary membership targets and successfully completed the active membership drive.

The BJP aimed to enroll 30 lakh members in Punjab but has only managed to gather around 6.6 lakh primary membership forms, achieving a mere 22% of its target. This marks a sharp decline in membership which has dropped from 18 lakh to 6 lakh before the new drive began on September 2, 2024. The BJP undertakes a membership drive every five years.

Delays in State Chief’s Election

Due to the incomplete membership drive, the BJP cannot hold the state chief’s election in Punjab alongside other states. Challenges such as lingering anxieties from prolonged farmers’ protests have impacted membership recruitment. The BJP also faced setbacks in Punjab, failing to win any seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections despite securing an 18.5% vote share. These modest gains eroded further during the November Assembly bypolls, where BJP candidates lost all four contested seats, forfeiting deposits in three.

Traditionally, the BJP's organizational presence in Punjab has been weak. Since 1997, the party has contested elections in a pre-poll alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), acting as a junior ally. However, the SAD exited the BJP-led NDA in 2020 over the contentious farm laws, and the alliance was never restored. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had secured two seats through its alliance with the SAD.

Current Status of Organizational Elections

Top BJP sources confirmed that the slow pace of the membership drive in Punjab is the primary reason behind the delay in the internal election process. The party has yet to appoint a returning officer for the election of the state president and national council members in Punjab. This indicates that incumbent Sunil Jakhar will continue as state chief unless a new nomination is made.

State chiefs and national council members from the 29 states and UTs, where returning officers have been appointed will form the electoral college for the BJP national president’s election. Apart from Punjab, the BJP has not appointed returning officers in Maharashtra, Jharkhand (due to Assembly elections), Delhi (where the election process is underway) and Manipur (where ethnic tensions persist).

Membership Drive Requirements

According to BJP rules, anyone can become a primary member by filling out an online form on the party’s website. After enrolling primary members, the party conducts an active membership drive, requiring participants to have at least three years of work with the party, enroll 50 primary members and pay a membership fee of ₹100. Only active members are eligible to contest internal elections and vote for the BJP national president. In Punjab, the process of elections at the booth level has yet to begin due to the incomplete primary membership drive. “We are far from reaching our primary membership targets,” a BJP source revealed.