CONSTITUTION AND RULES BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY As amended by the National Council at Lucknow on 24th December, 2006

CONSTITUTION AND RULES Article I : NAME

The name of the Party shall be “Bharatiya Janata Party” (hereinafter referred to as “The Party”). Article II : OBJECTIVE

The Party is pledged to build up India as a strong and prosperous nation that is modern, progressive, and enlightened in outlook and which proudly draws inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values and thus can emerge as a great world power playing an effective role in the comity of Nations for the establishment of world peace and a just international order.

The party aims to establish a democratic state which guarantees to all citizens, irrespective of caste, creed, or sex, political, social, and economic justice, equality of opportunity, and liberty of faith and expression. The Party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism, and democracy. It would uphold the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.

Article III: BASIC PHILOSOPHY Integral Humanism shall be the basic philosophy of the Party. Article IV: COMMITMENTS

The Party shall be committed to nationalism and national integration, democracy, a ‘Gandhian approach to socio-economic issues leading to the establishment of an egalitarian society free from exploitation’, Positive Secularism, that is, ‘Sarva Dharma Samabhav’, and value-based politics. The party stands for the decentralization of economic and political power.

Article V: Flag The Flag of the Party shall comprise two vertical colors– saffron and green, in a ratio of 2:1, with the election symbol of the Party in blue color in the middle of the saffron portion equal to half of its size. The green portion will be near the mast.

Article VI: Election symbol The election symbol of the Party shall be “Lotus.”

Article VII: organisational structure 1. National level : (a) The Plenary or Special Session of the Party; (b) The National Council; and (c) The National Executive. 2. State level : (a) State Councils; and (b) State Executives. 3. Regional Committees. 4. District Committees. 5. Mandal Committees. 6. Gram/Shahari Kendra 7. Local Committees.

Note :

1. The area of a Mandal or a Local Committee will be determined by the State Executive concerned. No Local Committee shall have more than 5000 population. 2. Area of a District shall ordinarily be the same as that of an administrative district in a state unless the state Executive determines otherwise. Still, all cities with more than 5 lakh population may be treated as separate districts. 3. A city area with more than 20 lakh population may be divided into more than one District as may be determined by the State Executive concerned.

Article VIII: Area of state units The state Units of the Party conform to the State and Union territories mentioned in the Constitution of India. Provided that the National Executive may sanction the setting up of Regional Committees for a metropolitan area or any specified area within the jurisdiction of the State Unit. The powers and functions of such committees shall be defined by rules made by the National Executive.

Article IX: MEMBERSHIP (a) 1. Any Indian citizen of the age of 18 years or above who accepts Articles II, III, and IV of the Constitution shall, on making a written declaration in the Membership Form (Form A) and on payment of a prescribed subscription, become a member of the Party, provided that he is not a member of any other political party. 2. The term of membership will ordinarily be of 6 years (as decided by the National Executive from time to time). With the beginning of the new term, all members of the Party will have to fill out membership forms again. In the meantime, membership will cease by death, resignation, or removal. 3. No person shall become a member except in his place of permanent residence or where he carries on his usual vocation, but at one time, he shall not be a member at more than one place. 4. The member will have to apply in writing to the District/State concerned for a change of place. (b) The subscription received from the members shall be distributed in the following proportion among the units every three years :

Article X: TERM The term of each Council/Executive/Committee and all office-bearers and members thereof shall ordinarily be three years.

Article XI: Register of members 1. A register of Primary members of the local committee area-wise shall be prepared by the Mandal committee duly authenticated and certified by the District executive in accordance with the rules prescribed by the National Executive. A copy of the verified Membership Register will be sent to the concerned Local Committee and the District Committee.

2. The register so prepared shall contain the full name, father’s/husband’s name, age, occupation, address, serial number of the membership form, and the date of enrolment of every member as well as the year and membership form number of his first enrolment in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

XII: ACTIVE MEMBER

1. To become an active member of the Party— (a) His membership of the Party should not be less than 3 years. (b) He will deposit an amount of Rs. 100/- (personally or by collection) along with his active membership form. Even if his form is not accepted, this amount will not be refunded (c) He will participate in programs of the party, including agitation programs. The concerned unit will keep a record of his participation. (d) He will subscribe to party magazine-state or central. 2. Only an active member will be eligible to contest elections for a Mandal Committee or become a member of any committee or council above the level of a Mandal Committee. 3. At the beginning of every term, each active member will fill in Form B and submit it to his District Office. 4. For every term, all active members’ enrollment forms would be forwarded with the recommendation of the District President. These forms will be considered by a three-member sub-Committee, two of whom will be appointed by the District President and one to be appointed by the State President to be its Chairman. The Committee may exempt certain cases as laid down in sub-rule 1 (a) and (c) The decision of the Sub-Committee will be notified in the District office. An appeal against the decision of the District Sub-Committee shall lie within 10 days with a three-member Committee constituted by the State Executive. A second appeal against the decision of the state three-member committee will lie with a three-member National committee nominated by National President. Accepted forms will be sent back to the District office, where a Mandal-wise list will be prepared. 5. The list of active members shall contain the full name, father’s/husband’s name, age, occupation, address, Form and serial Nos. of his/her first-time membership of the Party, serial number, and date of the active membership form and such other details as are required from time to time. 6. One computerized copy of each of the Mandal-wise lists of active members prepared by the District Committee will be sent to the Mandal, State, and Central Office. 7. An active member will be eligible to take part in Party elections only from areas with which his Mandal is directly linked at the District and State level. 8. No active member will be prevented from contesting party elections on charges of disciplinary action against him after the announcement of the election schedule by the national executive.

Article XII (A): Categorisation of States (a) The States shall be divided into 3 Categories : Category 1–The States that have got 5 or less than 5 Lok Sabha seats. Category 2–The states that have got 6 to 20 Lok Sabha seats. Category 3–The states that have got 21 or more Lok Sabha seats. (b) The State / Union Territory, where the existing 4-tier organizational system is not feasible, may adopt a suitable system with the prior consent of the National President.

Article XIII: Local committee 1. A local committee area must have at least 50 members. But where the population of the area is less than one thousand, the number of members shall be at least 25. 2. The President and members of a local committee will be elected by all the members of the area as prescribed by the rules. 3. The local committee shall be divided into 4 categories: (1) Local Committee having 25 to 49 members. (2) Local Committee having 50 to 149 members. (3) Local Committee having 150 to 299 members. (4) Local Committee having 300 members and above. 4. For category (1) Local Committee, the President and 8 members will be elected, out of which at least one will be a woman. The President will nominate one Secretary from among the members. For category (2) Local Committee, President and 12 members will be elected, out of which at least one will be a woman. The President will nominate one General Secretary and one Secretary from among the members. For category (3) Local Committee, President and 16 members will be elected, out of which at least 2 will be women. The President will nominate one Vice-President, one General Secretary, and one Secretary from among the members. Among the office bearers, there shall be at least one woman. For category (4) Local Committee, President and 20 members will be elected, out of which at least 2 will be women. The President will nominate 2 Vice-Presidents, one General Secretary, and 2 Secretaries from among the members. Among office bearers, at least one must be a woman. 5. The President must be a member of the party for not less than one year. The District President can waive this one-year period in deserving cases.

Article XIII (A): GRAM KENDRA/SHAHARI KENDRA

A Gram Kendra/Shahari Kendra will have a viable number of local Committee units under its jurisdiction which will be decided by the State. The Mandal President will nominate from among Mandal Executive Committee members a Convener of a Kendra. The local Committee Presidents of the Kendra will be members of the Kendra Committee.

Article XIV: Mandal Committee 1. (a) A Mandal Committee of Category 1 state shall consist of a President and not more than 20 members, at least 3 of whom shall be women and 2 belonging to S.C./S.T. The President of the Mandal shall nominate from amongst the members of the Committee not more than two Vice-Presidents, one General Secretary, one Treasurer, and not more than two Secretaries. (b) A Mandal Committee of Category 2 state shall consist of a President and not more than 30 members, at least 4 of whom shall be women and 2 belonging to S.C./S.T. The President of the Mandal shall nominate from amongst the members of the Committee not more than three Vice-Presidents, one General Secretary, one Treasurer, and not more than three Secretaries. (c) A Mandal Committee of Category 3 state shall consist of a President and not more than 40 members, at least 5 of whom shall be women and 3 belonging to S.C./S.T. The President of the Mandal shall nominate from amongst the members of the Committee not more than four Vice-Presidents, one General Secretary, one Treasurer, and not more than four Secretaries, (2) The President and members of the Committee shall be elected by all the elected members of at least as many local Committees of the Mandal, the number of which shall be determined by the State Executive. (3) The office-bearers of a Mandal Committee of all the Categories shall include at least one woman and one belonging to S.C./S.T. (4) Only active members can be the Mandal Committee members. The District President can waive this condition of three years period to become an active member in such cases where it is necessary.

Article XV: DISTRICT COMMITTEE

(1) (a) District Committee of Category 1 states shall consist of a President and not more than 30 members, at least 3 of whom shall be women and 3 belonging to S.C./S.T. The President of the District Committee shall nominate from amongst the members of his Committee not more than three Vice-Presidents, one General Secretary, one Treasurer, and not more than three Secretaries. Among office bearers, one will be a woman. (b) District Committee of Category 2 states shall consist of a President and not more than 44 members, at least 5 of whom shall be women and 4 belonging to S.C./S.T. The President of the District Committee shall nominate from amongst the members of his Committee not more than four Vice-Presidents, two General Secretaries (out of whom one will be the General Secretary Organisation), one Treasurer, and not more than four Secretaries. Among office bearers, one will be a woman and one SC/ST. (c) District Committee of Category 3 state shall consist of a President and not more than 60 members, at least 7 of whom shall be women and 4 belonging to S.C./S.T. The President of the District Committee shall nominate from amongst the members of his Committee not more than five Vice-Presidents, three General Secretaries (one of whom will be the General Secretary Organisation), one Treasurer, and not more than five Secretaries. Among office bearers, one will be a woman and one SC/ST. (2) The President shall be elected by the members of all the elected Mandal Committees. Any ten members of the District electoral college should jointly propose any active member for the post of District President, but the such proposal should come from at least 1/3 of the elected Mandals. The President will nominate other members of the committee, giving due representation to the geographical, professional social, and organizational spread. (3) (a) The appointment of the General Secretary Organisation must necessarily be made with the prior consent of the State President. If it is necessary to relieve or change the General Secretary-Organisation, the same can be done only with the prior consent of the State President. If the occasion arises, the State President can direct the appointment of a General Secretary-Organisation. (b) With the prior consent of the State President, the District President can appoint General Secretary (Organization) even from outside the members of his Committee. He will be a full member of the Committee. (4) President must be a primary member for a minimum period of six years, and other committee members are to be primary members for not less than three years. They must also be active members. In exceptional cases and in the best interest of the District Unit, the District President can waive this condition for five members at the maximum and with the prior permission of the state president. (5) The number of special invitees in the District Executive shall not exceed 20 percent of the total members of the executive besides ex-office permanent invitees.

Article XVI: STATE COUNCIL 1. A State Council shall consist of : (a) Members elected by the District Units as laid down in sub-clause 2. (b) 10% of Party legislators to be elected by all the members of the legislative party, but not less than 10; if the total number of legislators is below 10, then all of them. (c) 10% of Party Parliament members from the state, but not less than 3. If the number of Parliament members from the state is below 3, then all of them. (d) All members of the National Council from the State. (e) All former State Presidents. (f) All members of the State Executive. (g) All office-bearers of a Regional Committee. (h) Leaders of the Party in the State Assembly and State Council. (i) Presidents and General Secretaries of the District Committees in the State. (j) Party Presidents/Chairmen of Corporations, Municipalities, Zila Parishads, and Blocks. (k) Nominated members (not more than 25) by the State President. (l) State Presidents of allied Morchas and Cells. 2. Members of the elected Mandal Committees in a District shall elect members for the State Council equal in number to the number of seats in the State Assembly allocated to the District, provided that these elected members shall include a minimum number of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes/Tribes, equal to the Assembly seats reserved for them from that District.. Two Legislative Assembly Constituencies of each District shall be grouped and divided into Sectors, and at least one representative must be elected from each Sector. The demarcation of these sectors shall be made by the State Executive. If the members so elected do not include a woman member. If all the seats of the District are reserved, then one additional woman member and one additional representative not belonging to Scheduled Castes/Tribes shall be elected for the State Council from that district. 3. Each member of the State Council shall pay a fee of Rs. 50/-

Article XVII: STATE EXECUTIVE 1. (a) The State Executive of Category 1 states shall consist of a President and not more than 50 members, at least six (6) of whom shall be women and four (4) belonging to S.C./S.T. (b) The State Executive of Category 2 state shall consist of a President and not more than 60 members, at least eight (8) of whom shall be women and five (5) belonging to S.C./S.T. (c) The State Executive of Category 3 state shall consist of a President and not more than 70 members, at least ten (10) of whom shall be women and not less than 6 SC/ST. 2. The President shall be elected by members of the State Council from categories (a), (b), and (c) of Article XVI (1) as per rules prescribed by the National Executive. 3. The President so elected shall nominate his Executive Committee. (1) The President would nominate from among the members of the Executive of Category 1 State not more than four Vice-Presidents, two General Secretaries (one of them to be General Secretary–Organization), four Secretaries, and one Treasurer. Among office bearers, one will be a woman and 2 SC/ST. (2) The President would nominate from among the members of the executive of Category 2 State not more than five Vice-Presidents, three General Secretaries (one of them to be General Secretary–Organization), five Secretaries, and one Treasurer. Among office bearers, one will be woman and 2 SC/ST. (3) The President would nominate from among the members of the Executive of Category 3 State not more than six Vice-Presidents, four General Secretaries, (one of them to be General Secretary–Organization,) six Secretaries and one Treasurer. Among office bearers one will be woman and two SC/ST. 4. Any ten members of state electoral college should jointly propose any person who has been an active member for three terms and a primary member for 10 years, for the post of President. But such joint proposal should come from at least 1/3 of the elected district. The consent of the candidate is necessary. 5 (a) The appointment of General Secretary-Organisation must necessarily be made with the prior consent of the National President. If for any reason it is necessary to relieve or change the General Secretary-Organization, the same can be done only with the prior consent of the National President. If occassion arises, the National President can direct the appointment of general Secretary-Organisation. (b) With the prior Consent of the National President the State President can appoint a General Secretary (organisation) even from outside his Executive Committee. Such a person shall be full fledged member of the Executive Committee. 6. The State President will nominate at least 25 percent new members in his committee. The number of special invitees in the State Executive shall not exceed 25% of its total strength besides ex-officio permanent invitees.

Article XVIII : NATIONAL COUNCIL 1. The National Council shall consist of : (a) Members elected by the State Council as laid down in sub-clause 2; (b) 10% of the Party members of Parliament to be elected by all the Party members of Parliament, but not less than 10; if the total number of Party members is less than 10, then all of them (c) All former National Presidents; (d) All State Presidents; (e) Leaders of the Party in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha; (f) Leaders of the Party in State Assemblies and Councils; (g) Nominated members (not more than 40) by the National President; (h) All members of the National Executive; and (i) All India Presidents of Allied Morchas and Cells. 2. Members of the State Council comprised in categories (a) (b) and (c) of Article XVI (1) shall elect members for the National Council equal to the number of Lok Sabha seats allocated to that State, provided that these members shall include a minimum number of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes/Tribes equal to the number of seats reserved for them from that State. Two Lok Sabha Constituencies of the State shall be grouped together and divided into Sectors and at least one representative from each Sector must be elected. The demarcation of these Sectors shall be made by the National Executive.

3. Every member of the National Council shall pay a fee of Rs. 100/-

Article XIX : ELECTION OF THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT

1. The National President shall be elected by an electoral college consisting of : (a) Members of the National Council as mentioned under Article XVIII 1 (a) and (b) (b) Members of the State Councils as mentioned under Article XVl, 1(a), (b) and (c). 2. The election shall take place in accordance with the rules framed by the National Executive. 3. Any twenty members of the electoral college of a state can jointly propose any person who has been an active member for four terms and has fifteen years of membership, for the post of National President. But such joint proposal should come from not less then five states where elections have been completed for the National council. The consent of the candidate is necessary.

Article XX : NATIONAL EXECUTIVE 1. The National Executive shall consist of President and not more than 80 members, of whom at least 12 shall be women and 8 belonging to SC/ST, to be nominated by the President. 2. The President shall nominate from amongst the members of the National Executive not more than nine Vice-Presidents, not more than seven General Secretaries (one of these to be General Secretary–Organization), one Treasurer and not more than nine Secretaries. Out of the office-bearers there will be at least 6 W/SC/ST giving representation to at least one from each category. 3. Only such persons will be nominated to the Executive as have been Active Member for at least three terms. The President may in special circumstances grant exemption up to 15 members from this condition. 4. The National President will have at least 25 percent new members in his committee. The number of special invitees in the National Executive shall not exceed 30% of its total strength besides ex-officio permanent invitees. 5. At the National, State and District levels only a whole time worker shall be appointed as General Secretary (Organization). He will be eligible to contest any election only two years after his relinquishing office.

Article XXI : TERM OF THE PRESIDENT No member will hold the post of President consecutively for more than one term of three years. As and when it is found necessary, the national president may appoint one or more organising secretaries to assist the General Secretary (Organisation) and may allow similar appointments at the state level, by the state president. As and when it is found necessary, the national president may appoint zonal organizing secretaries to look after the organization in two or more states.

Article XXII: Plenary session 1. The following shall be entitled to attend the Plenary Session : (a) All members of the National Council; (b) All members of the State Councils; (c) All members of the Party in Parliament; (d) All members of the Party in State Legislature; and (e) All other categories agreed upon by the National Executive for the Session. 2. A Plenary Session of the Party shall ordinarily be held once in every term at such time and place as may be determined by the National Executive. 3. The National President shall preside at the said session.

Article XXIII: SPECIAL SESSION 1. A Special Session of the Party will be held, if the National Executive so decides or if at least 1/3 members of the National Council Jointly make a request to the National President to convene such a special session for discussing an agenda specified in the demand. 2. All members of the National Council shall be delegates for the Special Session.3

Article XXIV: POWERS AND JURISDICTION 1. All decisions taken at a Plenary Session or a Special Session shall be binding on all units, organs, allied Morchas, Cells, and members of the Party. 2. Subject to the decisions mentioned in sub-clause 1, the National Council shall be the highest policy-making body of the Party. 3. Subject to sub-clause 1 and 2, the National Executive shall be the highest authority of the Party. Every power not specifically vested in any other organ shall be exercisable by the National Executive. It shall lay down rules for carrying out the functions of all units and organs. It shall frame rules for the maintenance of funds which will be audited and approved annually; It shall be the duty of the National Executive to allocate the powers to all other units and organs, to frame rules, to create machinery for holding elections and for settlement of disputes therefrom. 4. All other organs and units shall perform such functions and carry out such duties in their respective area as may be determined by the National Executive. 5. National Executive will frame rules for the constitution of Disciplinary Committees at different levels for deciding matters relating to violation of discipline. 6. National Executive will frame rules for filling the vacancies caused by the resignation, expulsion, or death of a member.

Article XXV: Parliamentary board The National Executive shall set up a Parliamentary Board consisting of the Party President and 10 other members one of whom will be the Leader of the Party in Parliament, with the Party President as Chairman. One of the General Secretaries shall be nominated as Secretary of the Parliamentary Board by the President.

The parliamentary Board has power to supervise and regulate the activities of the legislative and parliamentary parties of the party, to guide in the formation of ministry and also has the authority to take note of any breach of discipline by members of the legislative and parliamentary parties and also by office-bearers of state-units and take such actions as are necessary. The Board will discuss and decide any policy pursuit or policy change which has not till then been adopted by the party. The Board shall have power and authority to guide and regulate all the organisational units below the National Executive. This decisions shall be ratified at a special meeting of the national executive within twenty one days of the said decision.

Article XXVI : CENTRAL ELECTION COMMITTEE 1. The National Executive shall set up a Central Election Committee consisting of the Parliamentary Board and 8 other members elected by the National Executive as per rules for the purpose of : (a) Making final selection of candidates for the State Legislatures and Parliament; and (b) Conducting election campaigns.

Article XXVII : STATE ELECTION COMMITTEE By framing necessary rules the State Executive shall elect a State Election Committee of not more than 15 members : (a) To propose names of Party candidates for Legislature and Parliamentary seats from the State to the Central Election Committee; (b) To make final selection of Party candidates for the various Local Body Elections, Co-operative institutions and the like; and (c) To conduct election campaigns in the State.

Article XXVIII : CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEES : STATE : to co-ordinate and to bring about better understanding and co-operation between the organizational and legislative side of the party the State President shall constitute a seven member co-ordination committee with state president as chairman and six other members, three of whom will be from state executive and three from legislature party including the leader of the Legislative Party. This committee will be under the supervision, direction and guidance of central parliamentary board. DISTRICT : The District president will constitute the district coordination Committee. The District President and four other senior members of the district committee along with BJP leaders of corporations, municipalities, District Panchayat and co-operative will be members of the district co-ordination committee. The District President will be the Chairman of the Committee. This committee will co-ordinate, regulate and guide the activities of these local bodies and will be under the supervision, direction and guidance of state co-ordination committee.

MANDAL: The Mandal President will constitute a mandal co-ordination committee consisting of the leader of the block level panchayats and two representatives of gram panchayats comprised within the Mandal and three members of the Mandal committee, of which one will be the general secretary. The Mandal president will be president of this committee. This committee will regulate and coordinate the activities of panchayats under the Mandal and will be under the supervision, direction, and guidance of the district coordination committee.

Article XXIX: STATE FUNDS AND ACCOUNTS

A five-member finance committee at the state level for all the states from out of a panel of ten names submitted by the state president will be constituted. Out of the five members, one will be the state treasurer. This five-member committee will be constituted by the national treasurer and will be responsible for the collection of funds, expenditures, and maintenance of accounts in each state. This committee will function under the direction of the state president and will be guided by the national treasurer.

Article XXX: SCRUTINY OF REGISTER OF MEMBERS The State Executive and the District Committee shall undertake periodical scrutiny of the six-year term Register of Members maintained by each Mandal and shall dispose of all complaints regarding irregularities and rectify the records. If large-scale irregularities are reported, the National Executive may take such action as it considers necessary. The State Returning Officers will not proceed with the elections unless the register is scrutinized and rectified, as mentioned above.

Article XXXI: MORCHAS AND CELLS 1. Mahila, Youth, Kisan, Minorities, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes Morchas will be constituted at all levels, and Cells formed at the National, State, and District level for other fields, according to the rules framed by the National Executive.

Article XXXII: ELECTION DISPUTES Subject to the rules framed by the National Executive, State Executives, District Committees, and Mandal Committees shall make arrangements for dealing with and disposing of all disputes arising out of elections to Units and organs within their jurisdiction.

Article XXXIII: INTERPRETATION OF CONSTITUTION The National Executive has the power and authority to interpret the Articles and Rules of the party constitution and also import thereof whenever an occasion arises for the same. The National Executive decision in respect of the above shall be final and binding on all members or units.

Article XXXIV: AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION The Constitution can be amended, altered, and added to only by the National Council of the Party, provided that the National Executive shall have the powers to amend, alter and add to this Constitution also. The changes so made by the Executive shall be placed before the very next session of the National Council for ratification, but they may come into operation even before such ratification from a date as may be prescribed by the National Executive.

Source: karnataka.bjp.org