High on results from the recent local body elections, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi is aiming a record one crore members when it launches on Thursday the membership drive that will go on till July 20.
The party had enrolled about 60 lakh members on the previous occasion two years ago and its leaders are confident that the figure will touch one crore as TRS had swept polls in Assembly and local bodies. The TRS took up membership drive every two years with fresh enrolment and renewal by existing members. The membership fee was ₹ 30 for general members and ₹ 100 for active members. The party collected ₹ 12 crore last time.
Party president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will receive the first receipt from Secretary-General K. Keshava Rao at the launch programme at the TRS office. Eleven counters will be opened on the premises to facilitate participants of the extended general body meeting of TRS who will be present on the occasion. The executive committee of TRS apart, Ministers, MPs, MLAs, chairmen of corporations and Zilla Parishad chairmen were invited.
Apart from membership, the meeting will also discuss construction of party offices in 30 districts and the preparations for the coming municipal elections.
Sources said Mr. Rao had convened the meeting to focus on organisational matters. A series of elections and pressures to tone up administration after the installation of the new government was a deterrent for him to take measures to strengthen the organisation. The party had decided to take up membership seriously in every village of the State like it had done in 2017. The membership books will be handed over to MLAs and Assembly constituency in-charges, constituency wise, at the end of the meeting.
Mr. Rao was expected to address the participants on the need to firm up party programmes with the objective to take government initiatives to people. He will raise the likelihood of constitution of district-level committees and appointment of new in-charges for constituencies. He had contemplated party posts for cadre who were denied ticket to contest elections to sarpanch, Mandal and Zilla Parishad posts. He was also likely to ask the participants to speed up construction of party offices in districts so as to complete them by Vijayadasami.
On municipal elections, sources said Mr. Rao might want the leaders to see that the Opposition parties were wiped out. Overall, he will want to send signal to people through the membership campaign that the TRS was the largest party.
