Ex-Union Minister Smriti Irani - stepping back into the shoes of 'Tulsi Virani', a fan-favourite character from Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, a popular soap opera that first aired on TV 25 years ago and will now be re-booted - spoke to NDTV Tuesday about her political journey.

Ms Irani, 49, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2003 and made her political debut the following year, in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. There was no dream debut in store; the Congress' Kapil Sibal crushed her by over 80,000 votes in the contest for the New Delhi constituency. In 2014 she tried again, and was beaten again, this time by Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.