BJP vs BJP turns Constitution Club election into a thriller

Last week, as dusk settled over Lutyens' Delhi, the air was buzzing with excitement at a Maharashtra MP's residence. Young MPs had gathered for dinner, but the mood was anything but casual. Lists were being drawn, names ticked off, phone calls made. A full-blown "dinner diplomacy" was underway. What was being discussed with all seriousness wasn't the monsoon session of Parliament or Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation, but an election to an elite club in Delhi. The election to the Constitution Club of India, where MPs, current and former, are members, and didn't generate much attention earlier, has turned electrifying this year.

What was being discussed and strategised was the upcoming Constitution Club election on August 12. "It felt like a college election than a parliamentary affair," recalled senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.

This couldn't anyhow be a college election when two BJP leaders are contesting against one another. Because, in the fray are BJP's Saran MP Rajeev Pratap Rudy and the party's former Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan.

With caste equations, intra-party loyalties, and even the issue of IAS officers' access to badminton courts on the dinner party's agenda, this rare BJP vs BJP face-off has turned the Constitution Club election into a political potboiler.

Sanjeev Balyan, with his rustic charm, earthy Jat humour, and easy camaraderie, is challenging Rajeev Pratap Rudy, the seasoned parliamentarian and polished aviator with an elite demeanour, who has held the post of Secretary (Administration) of the Constitution Club's Governing Council for the past 25 years.

"MPs CM Ramesh, who is known for his management skills, and Nishikant Dubey, who is well-connected across party lines", are helping Balyan secure votes from members from southern states, according to Sardesai. This is an attempt at broadening the Jat MP's appeal beyond the traditional northern and western base.

"That makes things tougher for Rudy on August 12," Sardesai said in The Lallantop's Netanagri episode.

WHAT'S THE CONSTITUTION CLUB?

Current and former lawmakers, PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, MP Sonia Gandhi, MP Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and even former Deputy PM LK Advani, are all members of the Constitution Club and are eligible to vote as a collective electorate.

The Constitution Club, established as an informal gathering of Indian Constituent Assembly members in early 1947, was formally inaugurated by President S Radhakrishnan in February 1965, at its current premises on Rafi Marg, close to the Parliament.

Registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860, the club serves as a premier platform for interaction among current and former Members of Parliament. It hosts events, conferences, and debates while maintaining facilities like conference rooms, lounges, a library, gym, swimming pool, spa, and badminton courts.

The governance of the club is vested in an elected Council drawn exclusively from sitting and former MPs, with the Lok Sabha Speaker serving as the ex-officio President, the Deputy Speaker as General Secretary, and a Union Minister and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chair among the Vice-President(s).

POLISHED VS RUSTIC: BJP'S CLUBHOUSE CLASH

The most crucial post in the functioning of the Constitution Club is that of Secretary (Administration), a position Rajeev Pratap Rudy — a seven-time MP — won unopposed for the past 25 years. Now, in a bid to "restore the old ways", Sanjeev Balyan is challenging the veteran Bihar MP.

"There are 1,237 eligible voters, but around 40 have reportedly passed away. So the voter list is under scrutiny. There are objections to allowing postal ballots. Some MPs want only physical voting. The fight isn't going to be easy for Rudy," India Today Group's political editor Himanshu Mishra said at the Netanagri show.

"All Maharashtra MPs were being contacted. It'll be a very interesting election. Balyan is getting votes from the South too, thanks to MP CM Ramesh (Lok Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh) who's reportedly made a list of 175 MPs supporting Balyan. Nishikant Dubey is campaigning for him too. Balyan is in the Club daily, campaigning with Satish Gautam, Bhola Singh, Surendra Nagar," added Mishra.

"Rudy assumed many of these members were in his corner because of his party seniority. But Balyan, with his rustic charm and Western UP Jat style, connects easily. He jokes, chats, and wins people over casually. Also, in past years, Rudy often won unopposed. This time, he is actually contesting. Rudy's supporters tried to convince Balyan to withdraw, even Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh made a call. But Balyan didn't budge," he said.

On being asked who the Congress leaders were supporting in the BJP vs BJP contest, journalist Aadesh Rawal said, "Rajiv Pratap Rudy. The English-speaking, polished crowd is with him. The Jats, Ahirs, Gujjars, and rural MPs are supporting Sanjeev Balyan," Rawal said.

RUDY CALLS CONSTITUTION CLUB POLL 'DEMOCRACY', BALYAN BATS FOR REVIVAL

With the BJP vs BJP contest hotting up, while incumbent Rudy is projecting it as a healthy democratic exercise, Baliyan is batting for "change and revival".

"I was nominated about 25 years ago by the then Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi. PM Sayeed was the Deputy Speaker. Since then, all the members found my work to be satisfactory and elected me every time. It is a very good thing that elections are being held this time. Every time I was elected unopposed. So, I also used to think what is so special about me! Those who are contesting against me in the elections are also my colleagues," Rudy told the Hindi edition of the India Today Magazine.

Asked if he was confident of winning, Rudy said, "This is an election in the country in which the voters are MPs. All of them are leaders. MPs will choose whoever they feel is good for them."

Balyan, on the other hand, believes the Constitution Club of India needs a course correction.

"Once upon a time, many new and old MPs used to come to the Constitution Club, share ideas with each other, but now it is not so. Earlier, there was a competition among people to become its member, but that too is over. Some MPs told me that it should be brought back to its old form and glory. Today it is running more in a commercial way, whereas this should not happen. My purpose of contesting the election is to return its old form," Balyan told the Hindi edition of the India Today Magazine.

As the Constitution Club election, coinciding with the end of the monsoon session, draws near, it is becoming more than just a procedural affair, like it was for over two decades. Experts see it as a reflection of shifting power dynamics, and a churn within the BJP. Whether it ends in continuity or change, the outcome will be watched and analysed beyond the elite club's walls.

- Ends