Former Union minister Smriti Irani said she turned the “impossible into possible” when she defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. She also reflected upon the hard work she put in to achieve that feat.

Smriti Irani told India Today in an exclusive interview that after losing the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, she spent the next five years working tirelessly on the ground.

“I cleaned drains myself, brought electricity to villages, built over a lakh homes, set up a medical college, a 200 bed hospital, a collector’s office, a police line and even a fire station,” Irani was quoted as saying.

Five years later, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Smriti Irani ousted Rahul Gandhi to clinch his stronghold constituency, Amethi. However, in the 2024 general elections, she faced defeat at the hands of Congress leader Kishori Lal Sharma in a big upset for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

When asked whether Irani could have defeated Rahul Gandhi again if he had contested in 2024 from Amethi, Irani responded with a smile, “Absolutely, that’s why he didn’t contest.”

Smriti Irani cleaned drains

The former minister also clarified her less aggressive stance against Gandhi after the 2024 poll debacle. “Now, it’s not my responsibility to be aggressive toward Rahul Gandhi. In 2024, the Gandhi family refused to face me. I can’t chase after them,” she said.

During the interview, Smriti Irani said the Gandhi family moved to contest from Wayanad due to its favourable social demographics.

“No intelligent leader willingly chooses a seat where defeat is certain,” she said. “If a seat like that is given, it’s only out of duty to the party. But in 2019, I turned the impossible into possible,” she added.

Citing political history, Irani said losing from Amethi is not new for big leaders. “Sharad Yadav lost from Amethi, Menaka Gandhi lost. The Gandhi family only chose that seat due to favourable social equations,” Irani said.

She added that her defeat would have been more painful had she not worked extensively in Amethi between 2014 and 2019.