BJP vs BJP in Constitution Club polls goes in Rajiv Pratap Rudy's favour
While Rudy, who has been at the helm of the club for over two decades, received 391 of the 707 votes cast, his opponent, Balyan got 291
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and five term MP from Bihar, Rajiv Pratap Rudy won the Constitution Club election for the secretary (administration) post on Tuesday night after defeating fellow party leader and former Union minister from Uttar Pradesh, Sanjeev Balyan.
Announcing his win, Rudy told mediapersons on Tuesday, “I may have won by more than 100 votes... And if that is multiplied by 1,000 voters, then the number goes up to 1 lakh... This is my panel’s victory“.
While Rudy, who has been at the helm of the club for over two decades, received 391 of the 707 votes cast, his opponent, Balyan got 291. The club has 1,200 members of which 707 cast their votes.
Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, several Union ministers, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were among the prominent leaders who cast their vote.
Also Read: ‘Historic and unique’: When Rajiv Pratap Rudy pilots a flight full of BJP leaders
A senior lawmaker on the condition of anonymity said that the polls were not easy, at least for the BJP leaders, as they had to pick sides.
“It was harder for those of us who have cordial relations with both…”, he said.
A second lawmaker, from the opposition side, said the election was “contested like any other”.
“There were the usual ingredients including the caste factor…” the lawmaker said.
There were several leaders who remained coy about their choice but a few others like Nishikant Dubey said it was time for change.
“Have you ever seen such a crowd in the Constitution Club election in the last 25 years? The reason is that MPs had no say here. This club belonged to IAS, IPS officers, middlemen and businessmen. The dignity has returned today. Senior members are coming to vote and they want change,” Dubey told media persons.
The Constitution Club, was opened in February 1947 with the objective to allow social contacts between political leaders and provide amenities of a club to the members is headed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as its Ex Official President.
