Smriti Irani gets candid on arch rival Rahul Gandhi's 'changed politics', says 'he thinks he's tasted...'

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former union minister Smriti Irani shared her candid assessment of her arch rival and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi and said that the latter thinks 'he has tasted success'. 

In a recent podcast with Top Angle, the former union minister said that Gandhi is now engaging in a different style of politics. 

 "When Rahul Gandhi was visting temples, was he grabbing attention? No, rather people were making fun of him. Even people belonging to the Hindu community thought that this was 'decietful'. His stretegists then thought that there was no benefit in bowing down before god. They felt the need for a united community. They could have done that on the basis of caste. Whatever he is speaking on social media is a part of his political strategy", Smriti Irani said in the podcast. 

Referring to the LoP's statement that 'there is no dalits or tribals' in Miss India contest, Irani added, "Even he (Rahul Gandhi) knows that 'Miss India' is nothing to do with the government. But it gets him headlines. So when he's doing so, he's political strategy need to be studied". 

"When he talks about caste, when he wears a white T-shirt in Parliament, he's aware of what kind of message it sends to the youth", she said, adding that 'Rahul Gandhi thinks he has tasted success'. 

It might be noted that in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Irani defeated Gandhi from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency with huge margins. However, tables turned on the BJP leader in 2024 as she saw her defeat at Congress leader and Gandhi family loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma's hands in Amethi. 

Sharma defeated the BJP leader by a margin of 1.67 lakhs. 

When Rahul Gandhi backed Smriti Irani

Post her defeat in the Lok Sabha polls 2024, Smriti Irani was receiving derogatory remarks from many on social media. The Congress MP backed her and urged everyone to refrain from defamatory comments. 

"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,” Rahul Gandhi had said.