Well past midnight on 12 August, celebrations erupted at the Constitution Club — just a few blocks from the Parliament complex – where the Monsoon Session was adjourned only hours earlier for the Independence Day break.
Amid his supporters chanting victory slogans, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters he had won the Constitution Club’s secretary (administration) post by over achundred votes.
“It’s a beautiful victory for all the parliamentarians and all those who came to vote and endorse the relentless effort of the team for the last two decades… It’s a beautiful experience,” Rudy said.
Why was it different this time?
The elections are usually a routine affair, with Rudy winning almost uncontested for the last 25 years. This year, too, Rudy retained his dominance in the 12 August polls, though not without facing a challenge from within his own party, the BJP.
“I may have won by more than 100 votes. And if that is multiplied by 1000 voters, then the number goes up to 1 lakh. This is my panel’s victory… Everyone rose from their party and cast their vote. My panel had people from the Congress, SP, TMC and independent MPs. I got the result of my efforts in the last two decades,” Rudy said.
The ‘BJP vs BJP’ battle
Rudy faced former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan for the elections to the secretary (administration) post in what many termed as a ‘BJP vs BJP’ battle.
Rudy, the incumbent Secretary (Administration) Rudy is a fifth-term Lok Sabha MP, while Balyan is a two-term former Lok Sabha MP
Over 707 valid votes were cast out of the total electors of 1,295 current and former MPs. Rudy got 391, and his opponent, Balyan, got 291, making it one of the highest turnouts for the club’s office-bearers election.
The election drew participation from marquee members, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah from the BJP and Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party Sonia Gandhi.
Other prominent leaders who voted in the elections included BJP chief JP Nadda and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. Several Union ministers, including Piyush Goyal and Kiren Rijiju, and governors like Shiv Pratap Shukla of Himachal Pradesh, voted as contestants lobbied intensively to rally their supporters.
Campaigner Nishikant Dubey
Rudy used to be a dominant presence. But this year, Balyan, spurred by the support from some BJP leaders, with Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey being the most visible campaigner, decided to test the Bihar leader’s strength.
With two candidates from their party in the fray, the BJP leaders found themselves split in their choice. Some favoured Rudy, others backed Balyan. It is believed that members affiliated with the opposition party largely backed Rudy. The grapevine has it that Congress and the Samajwadi Party had decided to support Rudy.
A few governing council posts, like the secretary (sports) and secretary (culture) were decided without a contest. Congress MP Rajiv Shukla became the secretary (sports) while DMK MP Tiruchi Siva became the secretary (culture) of the club.
At the helm for over two decades, Rudy, the BJP from Saran in Bihar, has been widely credited with transforming the once dilapidated club into a modernised hub. But this year, the other group that challenged him thought he had been there for too long without facing any opposition, according to a recent report in Newslaundary.
Before the polling, TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee reportedly told Rudy that he would not vote for him. Banerjee told Newslaundry that the reason was Mahua Moitra’s support for Rudy. The two TMC leaders had a public spat recently.
Although Rudy and Balyan were both former Union ministers, they may have been from the same party, but they presented two contrasting personalities drawn from different social milieus.
Rudy, a commercial pilot, is a suave leader who is at home with social elites, mixing his urbane personality effortlessly with his background as a savvy parliamentarian who has got the better of the likes of Rabri Devi and her daughter Rohini Acharya in Lok Sabha elections from Saran.
Balyan, who is from western Uttar Pradesh, was a representative of rural sensibilities and grassroots ruggedness. Warm and upfront, he had his share of close friends in the BJP and outside.
Balyan lost the 2024 election from Muzaffarnagar, but he has seemingly returned to Delhi’s public circle, with backing from many in the BJP’s top brass.
The fact that Rudy is a Thakur and his rival a Jat gave the contest an expected caste angle, but personal ties and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring played a big role in the final outcome.
A report in news agency PTI said Rudy was on familiar turf, and his long ties with the members proved decisive.
While Rudy had listed the addition of numerous facilities to the club and its modernisation under his tenure to seek another term, Balyan was rooting for a change. He claimed that the club should focus on catering to MPs and former MPs and not “outsiders” like IAS and IPS officers.
The Lok Sabha Speaker is the club’s ex officio president, but the Secretary plays a crucial role in the facility’s executive functioning.
The Constitution Club
The club was formed in 1947 as an informal socialising place for members of the Constituent Assembly.
It is located on Rafi Marg, behind the Reserve Bank of India, in the Sansad Marg Area of New Delhi. Before 1965, when it was inaugurated on its present Rafi Marg address by then-President S Radhakrishnan, the club used to be on Curzon Road, now called Kasturba Gandhi Road.
The club has two restaurants—Article 21 for the general public and The Preamble for members. It also has a coffee house, health centre, spa, unisex salon, billiards room, badminton court, leisure lounges, and conference facilities on its premises.
The club also has an Executive Body, including Secretaries for Administration, Sports, and Culture, and other Executive Members.
Over the years, the club has emerged as a popular venue for political meetings, art and craft exhibitions, functions, conferences and meetings.
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