Former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Singh Rudy won a high-profile contest for the post of Secretary (Administration), the most powerful post of the Constitution Club in Delhi, defeating Sanjeev Balyan, another ex-Union minister and ex-MP, by about 100 votes.While the voting took place Tuesday, counting went on through the night, with Rudy emerging to inform journalists about his victory at 4 am Wednesday.Generally considered a routine affair, the polls to the administration of the club were the cynosure of all eyes this time, away from the brouhaha over the Election Commission — with the two leaders, both belonging to the BJP, at the heart of it as they fought for the most powerful post.The number of eligible voters, who are either MPs or ex-MPs, was 1,295, and 707 votes were polled. Rudy secured 391 votes, while Balyan secured 291 votes.The electoral battle was keenly fought, but the MPs eventually decided to go with continuity instead of change.Rudy vs BalyanRudy’s victory means that his 25-year stint at the Club continues, and voters have given a thumbs up to the manner in which he transformed the club to make it a visibly swanky place over the last decades.Those supporting Rudy cited the vast improvements at the club, saying the sea change from how it was run earlier had happened under the Bihar leader.Story continues below this adHowever, some backed the challenger Balyan, and said that Rudy’s stint had been so long that it needed to end. There were also complaints from bureaucrats rather than MPs and ex-MPs frequenting the club, and prices being on the rise.BJP Lok Sabha MP from Jharkhand Nishikant Dubey told reporters on the voting day: “Dr Balyan will win because this club has gone into the hands of IAS, IPS, IFS and pilots. It has to be retrieved for the MPs and should be back in the hands of MPs and ex-MPs. That is why we will make Dr Balyan win.”And the buzz is that large sections of Congress MPs and ex-MPs may have sided with Rudy rather than Balyan. The high-profile contest also witnessed the who’s who of Indian politics descending on the club premises to cast their vote – and the list included Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president and Union Minister JP Nadda, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Union minister Piyush Goyal.Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Balyan said that whatever the result, the dignity of the club must remain intact and that, as a platform for MPs and ex-MPs from across party lines to engage with one another, it was a good thing the club was in the news again.‘Constitution Club come alive’Story continues below this adA former BJP MP agreed with Balyan that the best part of the election was that a largely “passive” club had come alive – and that many parliamentarians have woken up to its importance.Elections are typically held for Secretary (Administration), Secretary (Sports), Secretary (Culture), Treasurer, and 11 posts of Executive Members in the club. Congress MP Rajiv Shukla earlier won the post of Secretary (Sports) uncontested. Similarly, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva won the Secretary (Culture) post, and former Bharat Rashtra Samithi MP A P Jithender Reddy won the post of Treasurer – both uncontested.At 507, Pradeep Gandhi secured the highest number of votes for the executive committee, while Naveen Jindal secured 502 votes, again for the executive committee. Deepender Hooda of the Congress, N K Premachandran of the RSP, Pradeep Kumar of the BJP, Jasveer Gill of the Congress, Akshay Yadav of SP, Appa Rao Barne of the Shiv Sena, Prasun Banerjee of the TMC, and Kalikesh Singh Deo of the BJD were also elected to the executive committee.Formed in the 1940s for parliamentarians, the club has conference rooms, coffee clubs, and an outdoor cafe. Along with lounges for MPs, there is also a billiards room, a gym, a unisex salon, and a swimming pool.