Government schemes have always been a valuable political tool now the BJP in Madhya Pradesh has found a way to get more value out of every dime. Armed with lists of beneficiaries of state government schemes,the party is on a drive across the state enrolling members. Membership is optional,but the schemes are so good that they end up joining, says Vedprakash Sharma,president of the BJPs Gwalior unit. The partys target is to enrol at least 10 lakh from among the beneficiaries as members. They will be felicitated at conventions to be held from December 25,the birth anniversary of party stalwart and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The lists of beneficaries have been either downloaded from the Internet or collected using the Right to Information Act. The new members have to pay Rs 5 for a three-year membership which,incidentally,will be up for renewal around the 2013 Assembly elections,and are given a quick lesson on the partys core ideology before they sign the form. The BJP hopes to cash in well as tens of thousands of people have benefited from the MP governments popular Ladli Lakshmi,Mukhyamantri Kanyadan,Janani Surkasha and other social sector schemes. These are believed to have played a key role in the party returning to power in 2008. Indore district president Shankar Lalwani adds that the partys efforts should be recognised. The membership drive is hard work because most of the beneficiaries are poor and frequently change addresses,Lalwani says. The main function,Navin Karyakarta Samman,will be held in Indore,where the party has already enrolled about 9,000 members,to be followed with programmes in other districts over the next two weeks. The Indore district unit hopes to have about 20,000 new members by the time of the function. We have managed to convince nearly 90 per cent of the beneficiaries who we approached to join the BJP, Lalwani told The Indian Express. After all,he adds,barring close relatives like fathers and brothers,who would promise to give a girl child Rs 1.18 lakh when she becomes a major (referring to the Ladli Lakshmi Yojana)?. Citing the tremendous response,he says: There are instances of only women becoming members in houses whose heads are hardcore Congress leaders. The Congress,that has been fretting over state governments taking credit for schemes launched by the UPA government,has called the BJP enrolment political blackmailing. Congress spokesperson K K Mishra accuses the BJP of challenging political values and the federal structure. What if the Congress party starts a similar membership drive for beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme? he says.
