AAP membership drive hits South India hurdle

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: While the Aam Aadmi Party may be on a roll in North and West India, it`s the southern part of the country that appears to be giving it cold shoulder. Nationally, the AAP`s membership has crossed the 50-lakh mark. Most of these numbers have come from the North and West India. But, in the South the same trend has not been witnessed. As per news agency PTI, two lakh members have joined AAP in Tamil Nadu whereas in Karnataka, only 59,000 members, of which 49,000 registered online, have joined the party. In Kerala, a mere 40,000 people became AAP members. In Karnataka, a chunk of its support has come from tech-city Bangalore, where it has high expectations. According to party sources, the party has failed to attract members in Andhra Pradesh as the situation there is highly polarised due to the Telangana tangle. The party received maximum membership from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. In Uttar Pradesh, over 7.35 lakh members joined the party, followed by 3.6 lakh in Delhi, 3.43 lakh in Maharashtra and 3.25 lakh in Haryana. It has over 2.8 lakh members in Gujarat, 1.36 lakh members in Uttarakhand and 1.21 lakh members in Bihar, the party claimed. AAP`s `Mein Bhi Aam Aadmi` membership drive aims to enrol 1 crore members by January 26.