New Delhi: Smriti Irani, who had famously defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha election by a margin of about 55,000 votes, later lost the seat in 2024 to another Congress candidate. After that defeat, she was seen as being sidelined within the BJP, without a major organisational role.
In a fresh move, BJP national president J.P. Nadda has appointed Irani as a national general secretary. Among the party’s eight national general secretaries, she is the only woman, according to the report.
With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election scheduled for February next year, Irani has also been given additional responsibility to coordinate election-related work in the state.
The report further says that 10 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh are set to retire in November, triggering elections to those seats. It is expected that the BJP will secure eight seats and the Samajwadi Party two, and the BJP leadership is said to be considering sending Irani to the Rajya Sabha. Party circles also indicate that she may be fielded in the next Lok Sabha election, with Amethi or Rae Bareli being discussed as possible constituencies.
