New Delhi: Famous television actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani has emerged as a giant killer after Thursday’s national poll results saw her defeating Congress president Rahul Gandhi with a margin of over 55,000 votes in his home turf Amethi, the seat he held since 2004.
After losing to Gandhi in 2014, Irani this time scripted a historic win and successfully managed to dethrone the chief of the grand old party in Amethi.
The BJP leader won the Amethi seat with a margin of 55,120 votes. She polled a total of 4,67,598 votes. In 2014, Irani gave Gandhi a tough contest garnering over three lakh votes with vote margin down to a lakh.
While the development came as a shock to many in Congress, Irani is being dubbed as the election’s show-stopper in political circles. There is already talk about a plum job in the new Narendra Modi government for Irani.
On Friday, the former union minister tweeted a thank -you for the people of Amethi.
“A new morning for Amethi, a new pledge. You placed your trust in development, grateful to Amethi,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.
On Thursday, she had posted a poem on her incredible win.
“Kaun kehta hai aasmaa me surakh nahin ho sakta [who says the impossible cannot be achieved],” Irani tweeted quoting famous Hindi poet Dushyant Kumar.
The Amethi results confirmed Congress’s worst fears — the party chief failed to retain the home ground. Before Rahul, Amethi had earlier voted his mother Sonia Gandhi, his father Rajiv Gandhi and his uncle Sanjay Gandhi to power.
In fact, when the Congress chief chose Wayanad in Kerala as a second seat to contest, the saffron party described it as a sign that he was not confident of his victory from Amethi.
“Amethi was always considered a home ground for Congress because of the massive influence of the Gandhi family. Smriti Irani defeating Rahul Gandhi is a feat comparable to former Prime Minister (PM) Indira Gandhi’s defeat in Raebareli to opposition leader Raj Narain in 1977,” political analyst Ram Shekhar Vyas told Gulf News.
Meanwhile, congratulating Irani for her triumph, Gandhi on Friday hoped that she would fulfil the aspirations of the people in Amethi.
“I hope Smriti Irani takes care of the people of Amethi with love. I respect the decision of the people and congratulate Smriti Irani on her victory,” he said.
According to Irani, when she lost to Gandhi in 2014, her consolation was his reduced margin of victory.
“I did not give up. I stationed myself in Amethi and kept working for the welfare of the people who had chosen Gandhi over me. They slowly started admiring me for my work,” Irani told media on Friday.
This time, Irani’s poll campaign focused on highlighting the unfulfilled promises of Congress.
“I did not focus on an individual but on the idea of somebody given the responsibility but not fulfilling it. It has been a consistent effort since the past five years for us. But in 2014 itself, I got the first signs of change,” she stated.
Irani camped in Amethi soon after the election schedule was announced. She got the entire BJP leadership to campaign for her in the constituency.
“My organisation persisted with efforts in Amethi Parliamentary constituency. And as one can see the efforts by me and my party leaders bore fruits,” Irani added.
Explaining what went in Irani’s favour, political commentator Ravi Sharma narrated an incident that happened in Amethi last month.
“There was a small incident of fire that happened in a remote village in Amethi. While Rahul Gandhi was mostly absent in Amethi in last five years, Smriti Irani, who had been camping in the constituency, not only reached the spot within no time but also joined the local villagers in pouring buckets full of water in an attempt to extinguish fire. The video footage of the same went viral and turned the scales to her side,” Sharma told Gulf News.
