The election for the key secretary (administration)'s post at the Constitution Club of India turned into a high-stakes political potboiler on Tuesday with home minister Amit Shah, BJP president J.P. Nadda and Opposition leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge turning up to cast their votes.

Two BJP heavyweights, Lok Sabha member Rajiv Pratap Rudy and former MP Sanjeev Balyan, are in the fray for the post, turning the politically insignificant election into a bitter intra-party tussle for the ruling side.

Amid a fairly large turnout of current and former MPs who are members of the club, the division in the BJP ranks was out in the open as party leaders were seen canvassing for votes for their favourite candidate. Over 700 of the 1,200-odd members cast their votes, a feat unprecedented in the club’s history.

“Have you ever seen such a crowd for the Constitution Club election in the last 25 years?” BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, seen to be leading the “Dislodge Rudy” campaign, asked. “The reason was that MPs had no say here…. Now the dignity of the club is returning…,” he added. Rudy, the MP from Saran in Bihar, has been accused of lording over the club unchallenged for the last 25 years as secretary (administration).

Shah arrived to vote at the club, barely 500m from Parliament, half an hour before the voting closed at 4pm. He was accompanied by Nadda and commerce minister Piyush Goyal.

There was speculation that Shah would not come to vote but changed his mind after receiving reports about Sonia and Kharge casting their votes. The two Congress leaders had voted in the morning along with many other former party MPs, leading to rumours that the Opposition was backing Rudy to play into the split in the BJP ranks.

“Sonia and Kharge had come to back Rudy and so Amitbhai and other BJP ministers turned up to support Balyan,” a BJP MP said, claiming that Balyan had challenged party colleague Rudy after getting signals from the top.

Both Rudy and Balyan were seen walking up to welcome members as they arrived to vote. “I have worked tirelessly to build this institution, and now there is an effort to dislodge me. But I am confident that members cutting across party lines would back me,” Rudy said.

Balyan, a Jat leader from western UP, said he was confident of change. “I am contesting to restore the dignity of the club,” he said, claiming that the club had been commercialised. The results had not been declared till late on Tuesday.