Srinagar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has managed to make serious inroads in Kashmir by registering at last 80,000 new members into the party fold in the ongoing membership drive that started on July 7.

The party leaders claim that BJP’s Kashmir unit was getting overwhelming response in Kashmir and from every district especially from Srinagar district.

BJP’s national vice president and in-charge Kashmir affairs, Avinash Rai Khanna said that party’s Kashmir unit is feeling contended over the great response shown by the people of Kashmir as unexpected number of people are joining the party fold.

“We are hopeful that the party will pass the fixed target of increasing the 20 per cent more number of members to the existing one,” he said. “In every district, BJP is getting overwhelming response with politicians of other political parties joining us besides cross section of the society.”

He said the party had fixed three lakh new members as its target for Kashmir and the way people are joining them, it seems that they will cross the figure and reach about four lakh mark.

According to BJP leaders, since the party launched membership drive in Kashmir on July 7, 80,000 new members have been added to the party fold while as Srinagar has topped the figure where 8000 new members alone have joined. “The figure is increasing and we hope when the membership drive ends on August 6, we will have at least four lakh new members in Kashmir,” a BJP leader, overseeing the membership drive said.

He said that in the restive south Kashmir, response to the membership drive was encouraging. “People of all thoughts are joining BJP given its clear agenda,” he said.

BJP’s General Secretary (organization) Ashok Koul said that each member has been directed to add 25 new members into the party fold. “We are satisfied with the way, people are joining us. We are hopeful that at the booth level, constituency level and also at the district level, our vote bank is increasing with each passing day,” he said.

Pertinently, BJP top brass had directed the party officials to ensure all the 17 lakh people who voted for the party across the State in the recently concluded Parliamentary polls, where BJP bagged two seats in Jammu and one in Ladakh, are brought to the party fold through membership drive.  (KNS)