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Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, November 13
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the month-long membership drive by the Punjab Youth Congress (PYC) is set to be a costly affair this time.
While the membership fee was just Rs 20 when a similar drive was held three years ago, it has now been enhanced to Rs 125 per member for offline registration, becoming a major headache for prospective candidates. Registration fee for those getting enrolled via mobile application is Rs 75, but the app is getting crashed and is quite problematic to handle, applicants have shared.
A prospective candidate from Jalandhar said: “Even if I get enrolled about 10,000 youth, which is quite a nominal number, I will end up spending Rs 12.5 lakh only on their enrolment fee. It is not a small amount. But increase of fee is clearly a big problem. I cannot go about asking youth to become members and then even pay up. After all, I have to seek votes from them a few months later”.
Another applicane from the Cantonment area said: “The app about which we have been told does not open up or else I could have at least saved some money in the registration.”
Notably, age has come as a big cropper for the existing youth members. Punjab Youth Congress chief Amarpreet Lally said he could not contest as the maximum age for contesting would be 36 years (those born before January 1, 1983). Likewise, Jalandhar Lok Sabha president Ashwin Bhalla too cannot contest.
Regarding increasing charges, Lally said, “Though the charges have been increased this time, the fee for becoming delegates, which used to be charged later, will not be levied. Ultimately, the overall cost that an applicant has to bear will come to be the same or may be lesser this time”.
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