Dynasty to Democracy: The Untold Story of Smriti Irani's Triumph

by Anant Vijay

Amethi has long been perhaps India’s highest profile constituency. Billed as ‘karmabhoomi’ of the Nehru–Gandhi family, it has been continually held by the Congress since its inception as a Lok Sabha constituency in 1967, except for half a dozen years in between. Reports in the national media and Congress projections have always shown it as a robust and highly developed area.

However, when Smriti Irani stepped into this constituency as the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for the 2014 elections, the truth behind the Amethi myth became apparent. Irani was struck by the dereliction of the place and its people. It was neglected, backward and depressed about its future. Amethi had become little more than a political tourist destination that politicians, industrialists, middlemen and the media stepped into and dealt with as they please.

Tracing Irani’s footsteps from her defeat in 2014 to her win in 2019, senior journalist Anant Vijay attempts to understand the reasons behind her success in Amethi, shining a light on both Irani’s personality and her political methods. Through the political history of what was once a Congress bastion, Dynasty to Democracy examines how political parties function in a democracy like ours. Vijay’s book is also a keen study of the RSS’s working style, its strategies and exemplary execution that backed Smriti Irani’s efforts from 2014 to 2019.

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2021

Reviews

[Sumit Banerjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book in detail explains what happened just before 2014 elections where Smriti Irani was announced as a candidate from Amethi barely days before the elections, and what happened afterwards which culminated in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The fight for one of the most coveted seats which in spite of being so high profile remained backward in development.

This book chronicles the history of Amethi Lok Sabha seat, and the battle between Smriti Irani and Rahul Gandhi during 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The last chapter wherein figures driven details of the past Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections were given was a bit stretch and maybe not needed, according to me, but then that's my personal gripe.

Unlike the journalists who write books on elections sitting in Delhi, there's actual research and interview done on location to understand the pulse of the people. I would have given it 3.5 stars. However, in absence of that option and the groundwork and research done by the author, I am bumping it to 4 stars.

[Gopakumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author delves into the reasons behind Smriti Iran's historical victory in the Amethi Lok Sabha polls in 2019 defeating the scion of the Congress party in what was termed to be a David vs Goliath fight. With lots of ground work, interviews with locals, insights into the personality of Smriti Irani and a historical narrative of how Amethi came to be a pocket borough of the Nehru family, the book is a good read.

You really tip your hat to Smriti Irani for showing the verve inspite of a loss and fighting the good fight.

[Celia Sánchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

i started noticing this actor turned politician when she became minister of Human resources in Modi Govt...Her subject knowledge , ability to answer questions in Indian Parliament with facts and figures (with out looking at notes), versatility,fluency in various languages including sanskrit ...really laudable ..

This book traces Union Minister Irani's journey from her defeat in 2014 to her victory in the Congress stronghold of Amethi, Uttar Pradesh during the 2019 Lok Sabha election.the author attempts to understand the reasons behind Irani's success in Amethi, shining a light on personality and politican ..
Read if u are intrested in Indian Politics...

[Sujeet · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book captures the importance of winning Amethi by a non congress family...it loses marks in presentation since all the numbers percentage winning margins etc could be presented in tables graphs or in a more readable format than it is now..almost 40 pages out of 220 pages book has been dedicated to the same...

[Siddarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed look at how Smriti Irani and the BJP scripted History in Amethi, by winning over the people and defeating Rahul Gandhi, at his own home turf.