The BJP sees a game changer in reverting to the old system of collecting small donations for Narendra Modi-for-PM campaign if it reaches out to 10 crore households all over the country, its leaders believe.
Their calculation is if the BJP succeeds in getting touch with all these households, the party can ensure 20 crore votes, which can dramatically increase its strike rate in terms of Lok Sabha seats.
As senior BJP leader Arun Jaitely put it, "The UPA in 2009 got 15.35 crore popular votes and got 262 seats in Parliament. If we succeed in getting 20 crore votes through this campaign, it will reflect upon the prospects of the BJP in the 2014 elections."
Jaitley said when 10 crore household demonstrate their support to the party through donations, most of them also commit their vote to the party.
At the conclave of party chief ministers and central leaders, where newly elected chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raman Singh and Vasundhara Raje shared their "success formula," the funding campaign got a thumbs up after they concluded a mass donation campaign can be also be a mass vote mobiliser.
"Some of us in the BJP have strongly felt that in order to keep politics clean and its funding transparent, there is a need to go back to the system of small donations funding politics," Jaitely said.
{{/usCountry}}"Some of us in the BJP have strongly felt that in order to keep politics clean and its funding transparent, there is a need to go back to the system of small donations funding politics," Jaitely said.
{{/usCountry}}"Small donations are made by millions of people who exhibit their support through these donations. There is no element of quid pro quo. It is a matter of personal satisfaction for me that the BJP has decided to revert back to this system in a big way," he said.
Jaitley said donations will range between Rs 10 and Rs 1,000, will be collected both online and off-line with and backed by regular receipts/coupons.
"The collections will be deposited in banks. This will also strengthen the block and district units of the party since each one would have sufficient money in its bank account to support its political activities including elections," he said.
Earlier, the BJP launched Ajeevan Sahyog Nidhi, wherein thousands of people will annually subscribe a certain amount to the party.
This will be shared between various units of the party. Additionally, collections were being made through donations, big and small. But the practice of collecting small donations directly from people wasn't seriously taken up, which will now be revived.