How Smriti Irani kept her brand relevant, emerging as catalyst for BJP in UP

Smriti Irani is back in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s core organisational structure, with party president Nitin Nabin appointing the former Union minister as one of its national general secretaries, bringing a familiar and politically recognisable face back into an important role ahead of a series of assembly elections, including Uttar Pradesh.

The appointment adds another chapter to Irani’s unusually varied public career, which began with television before moving into student politics, the BJP’s women’s wing, Parliament and eventually the Union Cabinet. 

For Irani, the latest appointment is more than a new designation. It is another feather in a political career defined by reinvention, from becoming a household name as Tulsi Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi to emerging as one of the BJP’s most recognisable campaigners and later holding several important Union ministries.

Her transition from entertainment to politics was not merely a career switch but a gradual move into the BJP’s organisational structure, where she became president of the party’s Mahila Morcha between 2010 and 2013 before moving into Parliament.

She served as a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat and later entered the Lok Sabha, where her defeat of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in the 2019 general election became one of the defining moments of her political career.

The victory transformed Irani into one of the BJP’s most prominent political faces, while her subsequent ministerial assignments gave her experience across several policy-heavy portfolios, including Human Resource Development, Information and Broadcasting, Textiles, Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs.

A political career built around reinvention

Irani’s latest appointment comes after a significant transition in her political career. Her return as a national general secretary now places her back in the party’s core organisational machinery at a particularly important moment, with the BJP preparing for assembly elections and attempting to strengthen its organisation across states and social groups. 

The timing is especially significant for Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is preparing for the next Assembly election and where Irani has already established a strong political identity through her Amethi campaign and her appeal among women voters.

Her return could therefore allow the party to deploy a leader who combines electoral experience, organisational familiarity and a relatively strong public profile, particularly among women voters. 

What makes Irani’s latest appointment particularly notable is the range of roles she has occupied over the past two decades. Few Indian political figures have moved so visibly between entertainment, party organisation, Parliament, electoral politics and the Union Cabinet before returning to organisational work at the national level.

Her journey from television’s Tulsi Virani to BJP Mahila Morcha president, Rajya Sabha MP, Lok Sabha MP, Union minister and now national general secretary gives the appointment a significance beyond the party’s organisational reshuffle.

The BJP’s new team under Nitin Nabin combines experienced leaders with younger faces, while also increasing the representation of women and leaders from different regions. Six of the 13 national vice presidents are women, alongside women in other key organisational positions.

Apart from Smriti Irani, the BJP’s new national team includes several senior leaders and fresh faces. Vasundhara Raje continues as national vice president, while Sandeep Pathak, who recently quit the Aam Aadmi Party, has been appointed national secretary. Sambit Patra has been given charge as the party’s coordinator for the Northeast. The national vice-presidential team also includes Tirath Singh Rawat, Ram Madhav, Baijayant Jay Panda, D Purandeswari, Rekha Verma and Sardar Manpreet Singh Badal, among others. BL Santhosh continues as national general secretary (organisation), while Anil Baluni has been appointed media coordinator and Deepak Mhaskey will oversee social media coordination.