Women account for half of Bengal BJP’s 50L membership
Times of India | 15 January 2025
Kolkata: With BJP's membership figure crossing 50 lakh in Bengal, the party's women member base has reached an all-time high. Riding on the surge in women's participation, with almost half of its members women, BJP on Tuesday claimed it would reach a base of 60 lakh members in the state "very soon".
"The number of women members will cross 55% of the total strength once we start registering members offline. We expect to reach these numbers in the next 10 days," said Samik Bhattacharya, Rajya Sabha MP and party spokesperson.
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Last Sept, while inaugurating BJP's membership drive, PM Narendra Modi asked his party colleagues in Bengal to make special efforts for women. In Oct 2024, the party started its membership drive in the state. BJP conducts membership drives afresh every six years.
"So far, we have been enrolling members who have a mobile number. A large section of women in the state does not have a cell phone, and they will be enrolled now," said Bhattacharya. BJP sources said that compared to 2018, there was almost a 7-10% increase in the number of women members.
"We have also seen an increase in membership among youth in minority communities. Minority youth, young graduates who have aspirations, have started moving away TMC as development has stalled in Bengal. Compared to 2018, we are witnessing a 40% increase in minority community membership," said Charles Nandi, state president of BJP's minority morcha.
On Jan 20, Sunil Bansal, BJP's national general secretary and in-charge of West Bengal, will hold a meeting with state party functionaries.
Bengal netas were far behind the membership target until the first week of Dec. The party brass extended the timeline at least thrice. "Membership is an ongoing process, and by the end of May 2025, we hope to cross the 1-crore membership target set by Union home minister Amit Shah," said Bhattacharya.