BJP vs BJP in Constitution Club polls: Rajiv Pratap Rudy's 25-year dominance continues, defeats Sanjeev Balyan

New Delhi: Rajiv Pratap Rudy maintained his 25-year-old dominance in the Constitution Club management, prevailing over the challenge from fellow BJP leader Sanjeev Balyan in one of its most keenly contested elections, which drew participation from marquee members, including Amit Shah from the BJP and Congress' Sonia Gandhi.

Amid celebration by his supporters, Rudy told reporters well past midnight that he had won by over 100 votes, and members from his panel which drew from different parties had scored a win as well.

"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 told reporters.

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 slugged it out for a key position.

Incumbent Secretary (Administration) Rudy, a fifth-term Lok Sabha MP, faced a spirited challenge from Balyan, a two-term former Lok Sabha MP, but ended up winning with a comfortable margin.

The contest was projected as a "BJP vs BJP" battle due to the similar party background of the two main contestants.

Over 680 valid votes were cast out of the total electors of 1,295 current and former MPs, officials said, making it one of the highest turnouts for the election to the club's office-bearers.

Several Union ministers, including Piyush Goyal and Kiren Rijiju, besides Shah and Nadda, and governors like Shiv Pratap Shukla of Himachal Pradesh, voted as contestants lobbied intensively to rally their supporters.

Rudy has been a dominant presence, winning several elections uncontested, before 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.

It is believed that members affiliated to opposition party largely backed Rudy, those of the BJP were split, with many favouring Balyan.

The elections included 14 members vying for the position of 11 executive members.

Both former Union ministers, Rudy and Balyan, may be from the same party but presented two contrasting personalities drawn from different social milieus.

Rudy, a commercial pilot, is a suave and polished 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.

That Rudy is a Thakur and his rival a Jat has given the contest an expected caste angle, but personal ties and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring played a big role in the final outcome. Rudy was on a familiar turf and his long ties with the members turned out to be 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, claiming 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 ex-officio president of the club. But the Secretary plays a crucial role in the executive functioning of the facility.