'He advised me to...': BJP's Tamilisai Soundararajan clears air on 'public warning' video with Amit Shah

A day after a video of her exchange with Home Minister Amit Shah went viral, former Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan clarified that the Home Minister was advising her to intensify her party responsibilities.

The former Telangana Governor took to social media platform X, saying: “Yesterday, I met our honorable Home Minister Sri @AmitShahji in AP for the first time since the 2024 elections. He called me to discuss post-poll follow-up and the challenges faced. Due to time constraints, he advised me with utmost concern to intensify my political and constituency work, which was reassuring. This is to clarify all unwarranted speculations…”

Several BJP accounts shared a video of Shah and Soundararajan on stage at Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing-in as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister. In the clip, Shah appears to be speaking to her while gesturing with his finger. 

Some BJP leaders saw this as Shah reprimanding her for her "unwarranted public comments" against current Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai.

Karthik Gopinath, state vice-president of the BJP’s social media cell, posted the video with the caption: “That looks like a strong admonishment from Amit Shah ji to Tamilisai akka. But what could be the reason for this ‘public’ warning? Unwarranted public comments?”

After the BJP-led NDA's poor results in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Tamilisai reportedly told a YouTube channel that the party might have performed better if its alliance with the AIADMK had remained intact — a view differing from that of party chief Annamalai. 

She also mentioned that “anti-social elements” had entered the party in the state.

While Tamilisai clarified that she did not see Annamalai as a “bad” leader, her remarks led to speculation about internal conflicts within Tamil Nadu BJP.