The BJP, which last year claimed that its party membership had touched 50 lakh in Tamil Nadu, mostly through its ‘missed call’ drive, faced a rout in the Assembly elections. The number of votes polled by the party’s candidates in the 156 constituencies did not even touch 12 lakh, which is less than 25 per cent of the membership figures it had claimed. Continuing its dry run since 2006, the party failed to win a single seat.
The visits of Union Ministers and campaigning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have hardly any impact.
The only solace was its performance in its traditional stronghold of Kanniyakumari, where the party came second in four constituencies, pushing AIADMK to the third spot. Also, its overall vote share touched 2.9 per cent, up from the 2.2 per cent in 2011. BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan, who lost in Virugambakkam, said many of the 50 lakh members have still not been totally absorbed into the organisation.
The party’s promising membership drive failed to deliver in terms of votes
