New Delhi: With an aim of expanding the party's base, Congress on Monday launched an online and application-based membership drive. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur launched the application at their residence in the presence of AICC spokesperson PC Chacko and DPCC chief Ajay Maken.

The Congress online membership drive comes at a time when the BJP has claimed that it has emerged as the largest party in the world with a membership strength of 8.8 crores, surpassing the Communist Party of China which has 8.6 crore members.

"Any person wanting to be a part of Congress can now apply through their smart phones. There is also an option in the application to take a selfie from his or her phone and submit it through online. It will very useful, especially for youths who are Internet savvy," Maken told reporters here.

Congress had suffered severe drubbing in the last Lok Sabha elections, winning only 44 seats. Maken said through this application, which is both android and I phone-based, anybody from any part of the country can become a member of Indian National Congress. This is a new way of becoming a Congress member and the party has added three others ways of joining it, he said.

"There are four ways of becoming members of the Congress. One way is to enter the website -www.inc.in and fill up the form and apply for membership. The second way is to download the form, getting it photostated and distributing it among others and then sending it to DCC or PCC.

"And, the third way is andoid and I-phone-based application through which Manmohan Singh and his wife have today become members of the party. The fourth way is through the Facebook page of INC where one is guided how to become a member," Maken said.

Asked about the target, the DPCC chief said, "We have not set any target".

"Rather than concentrating on numbers, we are more interested in concentrating on genuine membership, people who really believe in the ideology of Congress and people who really want to be part of the Congress movement and secular movement and part of the movement for which Congress stands for.

"It is a membership drive for quality of people who would really like to be inducted into the party," he said.

On being asked if the app-based membership drive is inspired by BJP's missed call membership drive, Maken said, "In the country, Congress is the only party which has started mobile-based application to enrol members we are not following any party." The membership drive will continue till May 15.