Is BJP Still Thinking On Smriti Irani?
Once a prominent face of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a fiery spokesperson known for her unsparing criticism of opposition figures, Smriti Irani faced a severe political setback following her electoral defeat in Amethi to Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma, a source says. Following that loss, political observers speculated that she was entering a period of political exile. However, her political trajectory shifted when she was appointed National General Secretary of the BJP, leading many to believe that a major political comeback was underway that could significantly bolster the party's presence in key regions such as Uttar Pradesh, a source says.
Following her appointment to the top organizational team, her subsequent media interactions and social media appearances reportedly drew mixed reactions within party circles, a source says. Party higher-ups may not have fully appreciated this high media visibility during a period intended for organizational consolidation, the source adds. The political calculus further unfolded when state operational responsibilities were assigned, a source says.
Rather than taking charge of major election-bound states like Uttar Pradesh, she was designated to supervise party functioning in Haryana and Chhattisgarh, the source notes. In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath maintains strong, independent control over state governance, and with top functionaries like Vinod Tawde is already handling organizational affairs, so adding more high-profile figures could have created administrative friction, the source says.
Furthermore, because states like Haryana and Chhattisgarh already have BJP governments and are not immediately heading to high-stakes assembly polls, assigning them allows the party leadership to balance her organizational role while avoiding unnecessary disruption in core political battlegrounds, the source adds. While some view the allocation of these states as a step that effectively sidelines her from central electoral battlegrounds, her formal elevation to the post of National General Secretary continues to be seen by others as an important long-term organizational assignment, a source says.
