Rudy bags top Constitution Club post in BJP vs BJP battle

An intense BJP versus BJP battle ended in wee hours of Wednesday with Saran MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy clinching the top administrative post at the elite Constitution Club of India defeating party colleague Sanjeev Balyan by 100 votes in a high stakes election.

The results for the post of secretary administration and 11 executive committee slots were declared at 2 am.

By the end of gruelling day that saw stalwarts across the political spectrum - Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former Leader of Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury vote, Rudy proved he ruled the roost at the 78-year-old club founded in 1947.

Rudy bagged 391 votes against Balyan’s 291. While Rudy, a five-term sitting MP, had a near-open backing of the entire opposition, Balyan was supported by BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey, known for his closeness to Amit Shah.

Reacting to the outcomes, Dubey said the credit for forcing Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to come and vote in the CCI polls went to Balyan.

“When Congress leader Jai Prakash Agarwal fought the CCI polls against Rudy in 2005 and 2010, neither Sonia Gandhi nor any of the UPA cabinet members came and voted. I hail Sanjeev Balyan for raising the dignity of the Club,” said the BJP MP from Jharkhand.

The results saw senior opposition leaders in a celebratory mood.

Rajya Sabha MP and former minister Kapil Sibal took to X to take a jibe at Chanakya, a term used in political circles for Shah. “Constitution Club Election: Elected Secretary (Administration): Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Lesson: When the election is by secret ballot the so-called Chanakya’s will lose hands down. In Bihar if the election is fair the Chanakya’s will again lose,” Sibal wrote.

Rudy, in his remarks after the win, said he had a multi-party representation on his panel.

“My panel has won. We had members from the Congress, BJP, SP, Left and TMC. This is a collective space for us and is beyond parties and politics. This is the win of my panel. We have been rewarded for our work,” said jubilant Rudy, who has been at the helm of this same post for 25 years. Yesterday, Rudy had left the CCI around 5 pm post voting and returned only at 10.30 pm when he had consolidated his lead.

The former minister, who was dropped from the Union Council of Ministers in 2017, didn’t drop his lead in any of the 28 rounds.

Also among winners for the 11 executive committee posts are Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda and Kurukshetra MP Navin Jindal.