Lucknow: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh has decided to lift the embargo on the entry of people from other political parties.
However, the party has put some pre-conditions for those seeking an entry into the party — those seeking a ticket in the upcoming municipal elections need not apply.
BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said, “Prior approval will be needed from the state president before anyone is allowed to join the party. We are now in power and want to filter the membership because there are many who want to join the party only to enjoy the perks of being in the ruling party.”
The BJP, it may be recalled, had banned new entries into the party after some BJP MPs were found to be inducting their supporters into the party without the taking the consent or even informing the party leadership. This had led to disputes between MPs , Kaushal Kishore and Sakshi Maharaj, and many district party units.
A party functionary said since the municipal elections are due in the next three months, a number of leaders of other parties in municipal corporations and nagar panchayats are keen to join the BJP.
The party is determined to induct only those leaders who have a clean image and considerable support at the ground level.
“Every aspirant who wants to join the BJP needs to fill a form listing his intentions to join the party. This will be verified and if the person has the right credentials, he or she will be admitted into the party,” said a party functionary.
A major factor for leaders in municipal bodies wanting to join the BJP is to prevent a no-confidence motion being moved against them. The party has asked its district units to forward a list of leaders seeking an entry to the state headquarters by July 10.
