PM Modi asks BJP members to start on weakest booths in membership drive launch

Speaking at the launch of the drive, he said the women's reservation law will be coming into force during the 'kalkhand' (period) of the organisation that this membership campaign will build.

The “sadasyata abhiyaan” (membership campaign) of the BJP began on Monday with PM Modi being the first to renew his membership. The prime minister asked party workers to start the campaign from the weakest booth.

“Let us all begin this membership drive from the weakest polling station, where we got the least votes. It's easy to gain members where the BJP is popular, but we must work harder in challenging areas to spread our influence and gain support,” PM Modi said at the BJP office in Delhi, while unveiling the campaign.

The membership campaign officially kickstarts the process of the party’s presidential elections. It will take place in two phases – from September 2 to September 25, and then from October 1 to October 15. Memberships can be done via missed calls, NaMo app and offline through forms. Party general secretary Vinod Tawde has been entrusted with the responsibility of spearheading the campaign.

During his address, the PM also fondly recalled his early days as a worker of the party, when it was known as the Jan Sangh. “When I was not in politics, during the Jan Sangh era, workers used to paint lamps on walls with great enthusiasm. At that time, senior leaders of political parties joked that one cannot reach the corridors of power by painting lamps on walls,” Modi realled.

“We are those people who painted lotus on the walls with devotion, because we believed that the lotus painted on the walls... will someday get painted on hearts as well,” he added.

As part of the preparations for the membership campaign, workshops had been held across various states between August 19 and 21, in districts bwteeen August 22 and 24, and in mandal between August 25 and 27.

The prime minister also asked the workers to focus on younger members, especially those below the age of 25 years.