Smriti Zubin Irani has emerged as a prominent political figure in India, known for her dynamic leadership and impactful contributions across various domains. Her journey from a celebrated television actress to a Union Minister is a testament to her versatility and commitment to public service.
Smriti Zubin Irani, Born on March 23, 1976, was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, representing the state of Gujarat in 2011. She was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in August 2017. In the 2019 General Elections, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Amethi. Mrs Irani is currently the Union Minister for Textiles and Women & Child Development. She previously served as the Union Minister for Human Resource Development from May 2014 to July 2016 and as Minister for Information & Broadcasting from July 2017 to May 2018. She is India’s youngest minister in the government and the first woman to hold office as Union Minister for Human Resource Development and as Union Minister of Textiles.
She has held various significant positions within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), such as National Secretary (twice), five-term Member of the BJP National Executive, Vice President of BJP Maharashtra Youth Wing, BJP Maharashtra State Secretary, National Vice President, and National President of the BJP Women’s Wing. She played a crucial role in advocating for the Permanent Commission for Women in the Indian Army by providing legal aid to women officers. She also launched ‘Saksham,’ the first-ever vision document released by any political organization in India, focusing on policies and programs for the upliftment of the differently-abled.
In the 126th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mrs. Irani was unanimously elected as a Member representing the Asia Pacific Region to the Task Force responsible for establishing the first-ever Committee for Young Parliamentarians in the IPU. She was also elected by Member Nations as Rapporteur for the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance, and Trade. The World Economic Forum named Mrs Irani as the Young Global Leader from India for 2015.
In the mid-2000s, Irani gained popularity as a TV artist, playing the lead role of Tulsi Virani in Ekta Kapoor’s production *Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi* on Star Plus, for which she won five consecutive ITA Best Actress awards. Irani comes from a multicultural family with a paternal Punjabi and Maharashtrian background, while her maternal family is Bengali. She is a multilingual individual, fluent in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, and Punjabi.
Amethi is one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, covering the entire Amethi district and was created in 1967. Its first member of parliament (MP) was Vidya Dhar Bajpai of the Indian National Congress (INC), elected in 1967 and re-elected in 1971. Ravindra Pratap Singh of the Janata Party became its MP in the 1977 election, and Sanjay Gandhi of the INC won in 1980. After Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash later that year, a by-election in 1981 was won by his brother Rajiv Gandhi, who represented the constituency until his assassination in 1991. Satish Sharma of the INC won the subsequent by-election and was re-elected in 1996. Sanjaya Sinh of the BJP defeated Sharma in 1998, followed by Sonia Gandhi representing the constituency from 1999 to 2004, and her son Rahul Gandhi elected in 2004.
In the 2019 General Election, Smriti Irani from the BJP won a significant victory in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, defeating Rahul Gandhi, who had held the seat for 15 years. This marked a pivotal moment as Amethi was long considered a stronghold of the Gandhi family. In their previous electoral battle in 2014, Rahul Gandhi had emerged victorious against Irani. Rahul Gandhi held the seat until the 2019 election when Smriti Irani of the BJP defeated him by a margin of 55,120 votes. The Amethi constituency includes five assembly segments: Tiloi, Salon, Jagdishpur, Gauriganj, and Amethi.
