Constitution Club Poll: OBC, Dalit MPs To Vote For Affordability

Looks like there is going to be a high-profile electoral contest within the “elite” Constitution Club of India, as two senior BJP leaders and former Union ministers, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Sanjeev Kumar Balyan are facing each other for the post of Secretary. The club which has about 1200 members mainly consisting of MPs and existing ex-MPs is sharply divided on how Rudy has made the club so unaffordable for ordinary MPs. A section of the BJP is backing Jat leader and former Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan as Rudy has revamped the club beyond anyone’s affordability. The general buzz is that it has been made so exclusive that only “the corrupt and commission agents can afford the place”. “We have to replace Rudy and reclaim the Club that was founded in 1947 by President Dr S Radhakrishnan. If MPs cannot afford to step in, why should those who run it be there?”, asked Dr Sonkar Shastri, BJP Dalit leader. He pointed out that the rates charged in the restaurant were simply unaffordable for any retired MP. “On a monthly pension of Rs 31,000, I cannot possibly have a meal of Rs 900. When a meal in the Parliament canteen is Rs 70 or Rs 50 at our BJP office”. Dr Shastri is mobilising support of OBC and Dalit MPs in support of Balyan. So is Godda MP Nishikant Dubey. With voting set on August12, the wager is Rudy is likely to find going tough. A seasoned parliamentarian and trained commercial pilot, Rudy has previously been elected unopposed. On the other hand, Balyan’s connection with western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana leaders seems to be working in his favour. Some MPs are also helping him garner votes from southern states.