Once among Rahul Gandhi’s principal bashers in the BJP, former Union minister Smriti Irani now seems to believe the Congress leader has come of age as a politician.

She has warned his critics to shed the “misconception” that Rahul is “childish”, highlighting a tactical change in his politics.

“A change has come in the politics of Rahul Gandhi. He thinks he has tasted success,” Irani, who defeated Rahul from Amethi in 2019 only to lose this year to the low-profile Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma, told a news channel during a podcast on Wednesday.

“When he (Rahul) talks about caste, when he wears a white T-shirt in Parliament, he’s aware of what kind of message it sends to the youth.”

Speaking more like a political analyst than an opponent, Irani warned critics against underestimating Rahul, who has for years been the butt of jokes for the saffron ecosystem.

“We shouldn’t be under the misconception about his (Rahul’s) actions — whether they seem good, bad, or childish, they represent a different style of politics,” the former women and child development minister said.

Her apparently laudatory analysis of the Congress leader’s politics comes after Rahul last month slammed the use of “derogatory language” against Irani by trolls, who were mocking her as she vacated her official residence following her electoral defeat.

Irani said Rahul’s demand for a caste census reflected not “political immaturity” but a “political strategy” aimed at grabbing headlines. She said the tactical change was effected after Rahul’s soft Hindutva line of temple visits failed to pay dividends.

“Rahul Gandhi did not get any traction from his temple visits. It became the butt of jokes. Some people found it deceitful. So when this strategy did not work, they switched to caste issues to gain traction,” Irani said.

“He knows that Miss India has nothing to do with forming the government, but he still says things like that on social media. Because it makes the headlines.”

Irani argued that all this was part of Rahul’s “strategy” and not “political belief”.

Rahul has been saying that he has been unable to find Dalits, Adivasis or OBCs among the country’s CEOs or Miss Indias.

Irani had lost to Rahul from Amethi in 2014 but gained a reputation as a “giant slayer” when she defeated him in 2019 from the Nehru-Gandhi pocket borough.

However, this summer, Rahul contested from adjoining Rae Bareli and gave the Amethi nomination to long-time family loyalist Kishori Lal, who defeated Irani.

When trolls subsequently attacked Irani, Rahul wrote a post on X saying: “Winning and losing happen in life. I urge everyone to refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty towards Smt. Smriti Irani or any other leader for that matter.”

In the podcast, Irani said she was not disheartened by the defeat from Amethi, underlining that Amethi was for her an “emotive and ideological issue”.