Cong membership drive hits a low

Cong membership drive hits a low
SANJIV SINHA

NEW DELHI, SEPT 15: The Congress's much-hyped membership drive in the run-up to its organisational elections hasn't evoked much enthusiasm at the grassroots level in several crucial states, going by the figures released by Central Election Authority (CEA) chairman Ram Niwas Mirdha today.

Although membership figures in several large states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are yet to be collated, the available statistics indicate that the party has taken a beating in the drive for primary members when compared to the last such exercise held in 1997 under the presidentship of Sitaram Kesri.

The primary membership of 18 states and Union Territories stands at 2.20 crore compared to 4.5 crore during Kesri's time. Even after the figures of remaining 11 states/UTs come in, the total figure will probably just cross the three crore mark, which will be a good one crore less than last time.

The party's primary membership has suffered a perceptible setback in several large states such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala and Bihar. In UP, the figure stands at 44,15,675 as compared to 68,76,625 in 1997 while in Bihar the primary membership has fallen from 39,30,933 in 1997 to a mere 16,33,761. In Kerala, the membership has been reduced to almost half -- 24,71,500 against 49,57,625 in 1997. Even in the Congress-ruled state of Madhya Pradesh, the membership has come down by over 5 lakh from 30 lakh to 24,87,300.

Ironically, the party has registered an increase of over three lakh members in Maharashtra of all states where a decline could have been understandable due to the exit of Sharad Pawar from the party last year to form the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Membership has also gone up marginally in Rajasthan and Punjab.

The lacklustre membership figures have set tongues wagging in party circles, with the section opposed to party chief Sonia Gandhi touting it as further evidence of the ``demoralisation'' of the party cadre at the grassroots level and its lack of enthusiasm to participate in the polls and rejuvenate the party. Factional fighting in several states and backroom manouevring by senior party leaders in the appointment of Pradesh Returning Officers (PROs) and District Returning Officers (DROs) has cast an ugly shadow over the polls.

What makes the poor membership drive even more glaring is that it was extended several times in the run-up to the polls to ensure it gained momentum and more supporters joined in.

Speaking to reporters today, Mirdha attributed the decline in membership figures to the new provision under which primary members have to pay three years' (membership) fee and active members have to subscribe to the party journal Congress Sandesh.

Disagreeing with the suggestion that the reduced enthusiasm in the enrollment drive was due to the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the CEA chairman asserted that membership figures were less this time as the drive was ``much more genuine'' than earlier.

The CEA chairman also announced the ``rescheduling'' of the polls in Gujarat and Kerala due to the ongoing panchayat elections but insisted that there was no change in the date for the election of the Congress president which is slated for November 1. Elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Punjab have also been rescheduled at the request of the PCC units there.