"Congratulations to...ministerial colleague @smritiirani on getting elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a tweet when union minister Smriti Irani (pictured) was elected to the upper house of the Indian parliament, the Rajya Sabha, on August 8, 2017. Irani, who holds charge of the textiles and information and broadcasting ministries, makes her maiden entry into the upper house.
Having joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2003, she became vice president of the Maharashtra Youth Wing of the Party in 2004. In early 2010, Irani was appointed national secretary of the BJP and in June of the same year, as all India president of the BJP’s women’s wing. After having been appointed minister of Human Resource Development in May 2014, which some thought controversial given her lack of higher education, Irani was given charge of the ministry of textiles in a cabinet reshuffle. In July 2017, she was handed the additional charge of the ministry of information and broadcasting.
Married to Zubin Irani, the couple have a son Zohr and a daughter Zoish. Smriti is also a stepmother to Shanelle who is Zubin’s daughter from his earlier marriage to Mona Irani, according to Wikipedia.
Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly or nominated. The Rajya Sabha consists of not more than 250 members — 238 members representing the States and Union Territories and 12 members nominated by the President. Candidates are elected by the legislative assemblies of states and union territories.