Smriti Irani and Rahul Gandhi are known political adversaries who have fought against each other twice in the high-stakes Amethi Lok Sabha seat. So when Irani, a former Union minister, seemed to be admiring in a recent interview that Gandhi is “doing different politics now”, it took many by surprise.
Irani, who has been among the biggest critics of Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said: “When he (Gandhi) speaks on caste, or wears a T-shirt in Parliament, then he knows what message the white T-shirt conveys to the young generation. We should not be under the misunderstanding that any step he takes, whether you like it or not or may seem childish… But he is doing different politics now.” Irani said the same in an episode of Top Angle podcast, hosted by journalist Sushant Sinha, that was released on August 28.
Irani and Gandhi took on each other for the first time in 2014, when the former was fielded by the BJP from the Gandhi family bastion of Amethi. Irani lost to Gandhi then by 1.07 lakh votes. But in 2019, when the two faced off again, Irani breached the Congress fortress, defeating Gandhi by a margin of 55,120 votes.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi chose not to contest from Amethi. Loyalist KL Sharma was given the Congress ticket instead, marking the first time in 25 years that a non-Gandhi family member contested from the seat. In a huge blow to Irani, Sharma defeated her by 1.67 lakh votes, with the BJP itself tumbling to 33 seats from 67 in 2014 in Uttar Pradesh.
Since then, Irani has largely not spoken on the Congress leader.
This is a long way from 2014 to 2024 when the BJP leader, seeking to trounce the Congress in a contest that was seen as unwinnable, kept the heat on Gandhi on and off the political field.
In April 2017, Irani said that Gandhi “has no time for the people of his constituency”. In July 2022, amid allegations over Irani’s daughter running a restaurant-bar in Goa “illegally”, Irani shot back that the Congress should field Gandhi from Amethi again in 2024 and said “he will lose again”.
In September 2022, Irani attacked the Bharat Jodo Yatra and said that Gandhi was walking with people who chanted “anti-India” slogans, in an indirect reference to Congress leader and former student activist Kanhaiya Kumar.
Irani also took on Gandhi within Parliament. In August 2023, during the Monsoon Session, Gandhi was one of the speakers in the no-trust motion moved by the Opposition against the PM over the continuing conflict in Manipur. In his speech, Gandhi questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not visited Manipur since the conflict began, and asked if the PM considered the state a part of India. He also accused the party of splitting the Northeastern state in two.
In her reply, Irani said Manipur was not “broken”, as claimed by the Congress leader, but an integral part of India, and lashed out at the Opposition for “thumping their desks when someone said Mother India had been murdered”.
Irani proclaimed that the BJP would return to power in 2024, adding: “Desh tijori ki chaabi vapas unki mata ji ke haath mein nahin dega (People won’t hand back the keys of the country’s treasury to his mother).” This was a reference to Sonia Gandhi, and the BJP’s contention that she controlled the UPA for two terms in power before Modi formed the government at the Centre.
After that, Irani continued to challenge Rahul Gandhi for a contest in Amethi.
In March this year, before the Lok Sabha elections, Irani dared Gandhi to come forward for a debate on 10 years of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government versus the 10 years of the Congress-led UPA rule.
Addressing the BJP’s Namo Yuva Maha Sammelan at Nagpur, Irani said: “Let Rahul Gandhi choose the ground… Let us debate on the 10 years of UPA versus 10 years of the Modi government. The difference is obvious and is evident in the reforms that have ushered in transformation in the lives of the poor, women and farmers. Any BJP Yuva Morcha activist will be able to speak better than Rahul Gandhi.”
In April this year, Irani claimed that Gandhi had taken the support of the banned Popular Front of India to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Kerala’s Wayanad seat. “Rahul Gandhi should tell the people of Amethi why he is contesting the Wayanad election with the help of such an organization,” Irani told reporters.
In July, after the Lok Sabha results were announced, Gandhi urged people to “refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty” towards Irani and other leaders. Taking to social media platform X, he wrote: “Winning and losing happen in life. I urge everyone to refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty towards Smt. Smriti Irani or any other leader for that matter… Humiliating and insulting people is a sign of weakness, not strength.”