Union minister for information and broadcasting, and textiles Smriti Irani, in addition to speaking fluent English, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and Marathi, is also learning the dialect spoken in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh "so that she can endear herself to common folk.” Irani may contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Amethi and may lock horns with sitting Member of Parliament (MP) and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Irani is "spend(ing) at least three days every
Rahul Gandhi (left) and Smriti Irani: electoral battles?
month” in Amethi, observed journalist Arati Jerath in her column "Power Talk” in The Afternoon Despatch and Courier (September 7, 2017). She reported that Irani is "getting to know each and every nook and corner (of Amethi)” and foresees that once Irani has a grasp of the dialect, she will "certainly have an advantage over Gandhi, who has only recently become fluent in Hindi.”
Irani is married to Zubin, a resident of Dahanu and the couple have a son Zohr and a daughter Zoish. Amethi, a Congress stronghold since its formation in 1966, is known for being the constituency of the Gandhi family since 1980, having been represented in Parliament by Sanjay and Rajiv, sons of Feroze and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, daughter-in-law Sonia and now grandson Rahul. Irani, who contested and lost against Rahul from Amethi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections has called him a "failed dynast” after Rahul "chose to belittle” Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a speech while on a visit to the US in early September this year.