The Bengal unit of the BJP, which aims to achieve the one crore membership goal set by Union home minister Amit Shah in August, has launched a mega outreach programme targeting at least 30,000 booths across the state in 12 days till December 28.

The programme called Booth Sampark Abhiyan has been entrusted to the party’s youth wing. The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha launched the outreach initiative on Sagar Island in South 24-Parganas on Monday and the programme is expected to conclude at Fulbari village in Mathabhanga 2 block of Cooch Behar district on
December 28.

The BJP trailed the Trinamool Congress by fewer than 100 votes in the 2021 Assembly elections at 30,000 booths which are selected for the outreach programme. Bengal has 80,530 booths

“The youth wing of the BJP was asked to reach out to the booths, particularly in villages and remote areas. But apart from that, the entire party is on the road to fulfilling the responsibility bestowed upon us by the central leadership,” said a senior BJP leader currently busy convincing pedestrians in Calcutta to
join the party.

The entire state BJP leadership is approaching people trying to convince them to become the party’s members.

The BJP’s renewed efforts have come after the party’s Bengal minder Sunil Bansal recently told the leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, to mobilise MLAs and the party’s state chief Sukanta Majumdar to engage MPs to give a last-minute boost to the drive.

Till December 12, the BJP had failed to meet even a third of its one crore membership target, prompting the central leadership to assign Adhikari and Majumdar to oversee and accelerate the process personally.

“You cannot get members for the party this way. The party needs to stand by
people round the year and only that could help earn their trust. We are the ones who do that. The BJP is visible only during elections,” said Trinamool state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.

The membership drive, which began on September 2 and officially concluded nationwide on November 30, was initially extended by 15 days until December 15 in Bengal at Majumdar’s behest.

Later, it was extended till December 31.

Although 30,000 booths are chosen for the outreach programme, which is part of the extended drive, the BJP’s realistic assessment is that the party can meet only 33 per cent of the target. To achieve this, the Yuva Morcha formed 10 teams comprising five members each in every organisational district. Each team was tasked with covering a minimum of five booths daily.

“We have already organised over a thousand camps as part of the drive, most of which were outside urban areas, like major railway stations, bus stops, cinemas and IT offices. This time, we aim to reach the grassroots at the booth level in villages,” said a senior Yuva Morcha leader.

“This is the first phase of the programme. If it is a success, then, we will launch the second phase, where we
will bring more booths under our ambit. The membership programme will allow us the opportunity to reach voters,” he added.

Political analysts said the BJP had attempted before also to reach out to the grassroots.

“Previously, they had organised a village outreach programme, but that didn’t yield much. This one is just another version of that,” said a Calcutta-based political scientist.

“In many parts of the state, particularly in south Bengal, the BJP doesn’t have any organisational set-up at all. So whatever you do, it will never be a success unless there are people to implement the programme. So, the BJP should instead try to strengthen the organisation,” he added.