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’s 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 the last two decades… It’s a beautiful experience,” Rudy told reporters.
This year, Balyan, a former two-time Muzaffarnagar MP, decided to challenge Rudy in what was seen as a sign of internal power dynamics in the BJP.
Rudy, who was asked to step down as Union Skill Development Minister in September of 2017, has remained on the sidelines of the BJP ever since and is widely known to be out of favour with the top leadership these days.
His clout at the CCI has, however, only grown.
The criticality of today’s election was evident from the eminence of those who turned up to vote.
Among voters were Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, cabinet ministers Piyush Goyal, Kiren Rijiju, Jitendra Singh, and others.
The opposition was represented by Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, actor MP Kangana Ranaut, former minister Smriti Irani, among others.
Such was the confusion among new BJP members that they were seen seeking the counsel of seniors on who to elect.
Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut even said on record: “This is the first time we are seeing a BJP versus BJP election. For newcomers, this is confusing, so we are asking our seniors.”
Former minister Smriti Irani likened the intensity of CCI polls to that of Lok Sabha elections.
“Electing a leader among leaders is a challenge, but it shows signs of a mature democracy,” she said after voting.
Two sitting governors — Santosh Gangwar (Jharkhand) and Shiv Pratap Shukla (Himachal Pradesh) also came to vote.
Out of about 1200 voting members, 669 voted. This included 38 postal ballots which, sources said, favoured Rudy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not vote. Rahul Gandhi, it turned out, is not a member of CCI, where being an MP alone doesn’t qualify anyone to become a Club member. They have to seek membership.
At the end of round 13, around 10.30 PM today, Rudy was leading against Balyan with 186 votes to 158 and 325 votes were yet to be counted.
The buzz at CCI compounds on Rafi Road all day was that the opposition had voted for Rudy, who ran his campaign on the grounds of having transformed the CCI landscape.
Balyan, who had Jharkhand BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for support, however, said CCI had, over the recent past, become distant from parliamentarians, and bureaucratic lobbies ruled the roost here.
Rivalries apart, Rudy and Balyan today struck happy poses together with Balyan saying, “whoever wins, a brother would have won.”
Under the surface of calm, though there were clear rumblings, with Balyan said to be enjoying the backing of top BJP brass.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju, however, downplayed this politics and said CCI elections were not about politics.
“It’s an internal matter of MPs, not a party competition,” he said.
With battle lines drawn, murmurs in CCI corridors were — Western UP leaders across parties had backed Balyan while Rudy clocked the support of Congress-led INDIA parties as perhaps even of the Shiromani Akali Dal.
The results are likely to be announced in the wee hours on Wednesday, including for 11 executive committee posts where Haryana MPs Deepender Hooda, Navin Jindal, and former Khadoor Sahib MP Jasbir Singh Gill were among 14 contestants.
Three positions at the CCI were filled unopposed today — Congress’s Rajeev Shukla and Jithender Reddy were elected Sports Secretary and Treasurer, respectively, and DMK’s Tiruchi Siva became Culture Secretary.
