In 2014 the BJP began a membership drive in which people joined by dialing a toll-free number. The call was cut, and the party called back to confirm. By April 2015 the party reported over 90 million members, Business Standard wrote. A Congress leader called the BJP the biggest “missed call” party.
The figures were disputed. In March 2015 the BJP had declared 8.8 crore members, ThePrint noted, and later it claimed 11 crore.