Rajiv Pratap Rudy has maintained a strong political influence at the Constitution Club for many years. This time, he retained his dominance by defeating Sanjeev Balyan. Rudy has secured unopposed victories in 2009, 2014, and 2019. A five-time Lok Sabha member, Rudy faced a tough challenge from his own party’s BJP leader, Sanjeev Balyan. Rudy has been the secretary of this club for the past 25 years.
Initially, the club was not very active, but in 1998-99, the then Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi formed a vision committee for it. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a veteran BJP leader and a seven-time MP from Bihar’s Saran, was nominated as the secretary (administration) of this club.
Following this, an election-based system was established during the tenure of Somnath Chatterjee, a Leftist leader who was the Lok Sabha Speaker. The club’s bylaws were approved on August 2, 2008. The first election for its governing council was held on February 18, 2009.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a Member of Parliament from the Saran Lok Sabha seat in Bihar and a minister in the central government, was born on March 30, 1962. He defeated Rabri Devi, the wife of Lalu Yadav, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Before entering politics, Rajiv Pratap Rudy was a lecturer at Patna’s AN College. However, he was active in student politics before becoming a lecturer.
In 1990, Rudy was elected as an MLA from the Taraiya assembly of Bihar at the age of just 28. Subsequently, he was elected as an MP to the Lok Sabha on a BJP ticket in the general elections held in 1996. In 1999, he was once again elected as an MP and was appointed as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
Later, he was given independent charge of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. In 2008, he was elected as an MP to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar and reached the Lok Sabha again in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, defeating Rabri Devi, the wife of Lalu Yadav, from Saran.
He was included in the Union Cabinet on November 9, 2014, and was made the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge). In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rajiv Pratap Rudy contested against Chandrika Rai, Lalu Yadav’s son-in-law. Rudy also defeated him by a large margin of 138,429 votes. In the 2024 elections, Rudy faced Rohini Acharya, Lalu Yadav’s daughter, from the Saran seat. But Rajiv Pratap Rudy once again secured victory.
The newly elected secretary of the Constitution Club, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, completed his early education at St. Michael’s High School. After that, he went to Chandigarh, where he completed his pre-university and pre-engineering studies from DAV College, located in Sector 10. He also earned a BA (Honors) degree in Economics from the Government College, Chandigarh. He also holds a law degree, which he obtained from Punjab University in 1985. After this, he did his post-graduation in Economics from Magadh University in 1987.
Rudy has also undergone pilot training. He is a commercial pilot license holder. He has trained to fly the A-320 aircraft from SimCenter, Miami, Florida, approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He often flies a plane from Patna to Delhi.
The Constitution Club of India is a club for the MPs of the country, due to which it is also called a mini-parliament. This club was established in the year 1947. Its foundation was laid for dialogue between the members of the Constituent Assembly. Later, it was recognized as a club for MPs. However, its formal structure was established in 1965 with the inauguration by President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Since then, this club has been working as a center for various activities, including the meeting and mingling of the current MPs.
