"Life Cannot Be All Roses...": Smriti Irani To NDTV On Political Journey

Ex-Union Minister Smriti Irani - stepping back into the shoes of 'Tulsi Virani', a fan-favourite character from Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, a popular soap opera that first aired on TV 25 years ago and will now be re-booted - spoke to NDTV Tuesday about her political journey.

Ms Irani, 49, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2003 and made her political debut the following year, in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. There was no dream debut in store; the Congress' Kapil Sibal crushed her by over 80,000 votes in the contest for the New Delhi constituency. In 2014 she tried again, and was beaten again, this time by Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.

But the 'part-time actor, full-time politician', as she described herself to NDTV, had the last laugh. In 2019 she returned to Amethi and dumped Mr Gandhi from his family stronghold.

Between 2014 and 2024 Ms Irani also served terms as the minister for Human Resources, Textiles, Information and Broadcasting, Women and Child Development, and Minority affairs.

"In my political journey, I was very clear - I wanted the respect of my colleagues (and) never shied away from hard work," she said, "And I was conscious of the fact that if you want a very robust political system of the country... you need people from all walks of life should join..."

Ms Irani remembered advice given to her by the late Jaswant Singh, one of independent India's longest-serving politicians and a statesman who served as the External Affairs Minister.

"In 2003, Jaswant Singhji told me... 'you are coming into politics. Delhi will be merciless... you need good PR or you will be crushed'. I replied, 'but why. I am coming in to do good work?'" she said, adding it would have been easy to hire a PR team - which she did not - for her image.

The senior BJP leader also spoke about the language row in Maharashtra, where goons from Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have attacked people for not speaking Marathi.

READ | "When World Turns Against You...": Smriti Irani To NDTV On Language Row

She said being an 'Indian' matters more than anything else; "We celebrate the complexities. As an Indian... when the world turns on you, the only person you can count on is another Indian."

Politics and the cause of serving her country kept her busy for 25 years, she said, pointing out she had been a BJP office-bearer since 2004, when she was appointed Vice President of the party's Maharashtra youth wing. But despite being so busy the 'actor' in her never faded away.

"Many people today are flabbergasted... they ask, 'how do you manage?' But I have been managing... Life cannot be all roses..." she said, underlining the importance of hard work.

Finally, on her return to the TV screen, and the role that made her famous, Ms Irani said, "... to have a 25-year-run in media and politics... That is blessed because never has somebody managed to be successful in both these very competitive fields. And more so, if you're a woman to be at the top of the game continuously for two-and-a-half decades is no mean feat."

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