MUMBAI: Smriti Z Iraani Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi's self-righteous bahu Tulsi, has a new role to play now. Smriti has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a party worker.

Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Smriti says, "Yes I have joined politics. But I cannot comment on whether I'll be standing for the elections or not. For that, you will have to check with the BJP office."

BJP member of Parliament Kirit Somaya endorses the news and says, "It's still early days for us to take a call on whether Smriti will be a contestant for the elections or not. The Assembly elections are scheduled in October 2004. However, hard-working and sincere people like her are always welcome in our party."

Smriti, who was the anchor of Kuch Diiil Se , a woman-centric interactive talk show on Sab TV till recently, says that social concerns were always of prime importance to her. "For long, I have had this urge to do something for the welfare of our society, rather than being a mute spectator. While doing Kuch Diiil Se, I realised that our society is plagued by much more problems than I had imagined. I decided to be a part of the system and attempt to change certain practices."

This was when BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan asked Smriti if she would like to do some real work for BJP. Smriti says, "Later on, BJP state president Gopinath Munde also spoke to me. And instead of asking myself 'Why?', I asked, 'Why not?" Smriti says, what drew her towards BJP was its policy. "The BJP believes primarily in suraksha (security), surajya(good governance) and vikaas (development)."

So, the coming months are certainly going to be busy for Smriti, what with her having to juggle her television shoots, politics and family, especially with two kids. However, Smriti puts a rather confident front and says, "But I am sure that everything will fall in place. The producers of the shows I am doing and the party heads of the BJP have been kind enough to mutually agree that my work schedules in either case will not be hampered."

It is a common belief that political parties rope in film and TV stars for extra news coverage, however, Smriti is not game for any such gimmick. "I am not going to be a figure-head," she announces firmly, "else I would have never taken this step." Smriti promises that her aim would solely be to do everything possible to make our environment a better place to live in.