THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When BJP national President Amit Shah was in Palakkad during the weekend, State Chief V. Muraleedharan apprised him that 15 lakh new cadres had been gathered as part of the membership campaign.

A peeved Amith Shah sidelined the State president and instead asked the district presidents to give him an estimate of new members within six minutes. They came up with a total of 41 lakhs when his actual target was 47 lakhs.

Muraleedharan has been braving all odds in the party as well as from the RSS and is towards the fag end of his second term which ends in March 2015. During Amit Shah’s last visit to Thiruvananthapuram on Sept 1, he had urged the State leadership to intensify the membership campaign, but it has not been met in the right spirit.

A senior BJP leader told DC that the campaign started only from Dec. 1 coinciding with the balidan divas of slain RSS leader K. T. Jayakrishnan Master, much to the displeasure of the national President.

“The online membership campaign in the State started only on Dec. 1 when other States across the country had initiated the six month drive on Nov 1.

When states like Tamil Nadu had brought in film and music director Gangai Amaran and former DMK leader and union minister Napolean to the BJP, here everything is in limbo”, said a top BJP leader to DC under anonymity.

Another BJP leader confirmed to DC that Amit Shah was keen to see that the State leadership garners 40 lakh members. He also said that the national president told the State office bearers meeting that in the coming elections whether local bodies or assembly elections there are only two options before the party either be the ruling front or sit in the opposition front.

The dissident group led by former national secretary P. K. Krishnadas, vice president M. T. Ramesh and general secretary A. N. Radhakrishnan also met him personally and apprised him of the developments within the party and the political scene in the State.