Rajiv Pratap Rudy won the Constitution Club elections by defeating fellow BJP leader Sanjeev Balyan with a comfortable margin, marking his 25-year-old dominance in the Constitution Club management. The keenly-contested drew participation from senior members, including Amit Shah from the BJP and Congress’ Sonia Gandhi.
Rudy won the elections by over 100 votes and members of his panel from different parties also emerged victorious. Rudy’s supporters celebrated his victory past midnight. “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 last two decades… It’s a beautiful experience,” Rudy said while interacting with reporters after the result was declared.
Several prominent leaders cutting across partly lines participated in the voting process, including Union ministers Shah and JP Nadda of the BJP and Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, as the two seasoned members of the ruling party for the key position
Prominent leaders of different parties, including Union ministers Shah and J P Nadda of the BJP and Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, voted on Tuesday, as two seasoned ruling party members locked horns for a key position.
Incumbent Secretary (Administration) Rudy is a five time Lok Sabha MP while Balyan is a two-term former Lok Sabha MP. The election was seen as a “BJP vs BJP” contest as both main contenders had the similar party background. Of the total electors of 1,295 current and former MPs, more than 680 valid votes were cast. This was one of the highest turnouts for the election to the club’s office-bearers, according to officials.
Besides Shah and Nadda, Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Kiren Rijiju, governors like Shiv Pratap Shukla of Himachal Pradesh, voted. While the Lok Sabha Speaker is the ex-officio president of the club, the Secretary plays a key role in the executive functioning of the facility.
