Why was Amit Shah so angry with Tamilisai?

Chennai: A viral video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah apparently giving a dressing down to Tamilisai Soundararajan, a prominent BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, triggered speculations of the rift in the State BJP widening though no one knows what exactly transpired on the stage put up for the swearing in of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada on Wednesday.

In the video, the former Governor of Telangana, Soundararajan, is seen walking briskly on the stage to take her seat when she wishes former Vice President Venkiah Naidu and Amit Shah, who were seated next to each other, and goes past them when Shah beckons her with a raised finger.

During the conversation that ensued between them, Shah looked grim even while speaking to her animatedly, gesticulating with his finger that looked more like a warning.

Though Sounderarajan was seemingly trying to explain her point of view, Shah remained angry all through the conversation, which led to viewers surmising that it could be only over the recent outbursts of Soundararajan against the BJP State president K Annamalai and the party’s IT wing on the raging debate in the party over the BJP and AIADMK parting ways ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

On her landing in Chennai from Vijayawada after the swearing in was over, Soundararajan left the airport in a huff without responding to the volley of questions fired at her by waiting media persons, which was seen as unusual as the BJP leader is otherwise known for her affable approach to the media. Her behaviour was also contrasted with that of actor Rajinikanth, who too landed by the same flight after attending the swearing in, but answered the questions shot by media persons.

Adding credence to the theory that Shah was possibly angry over Soundararajan’s suggestion that the BJP would have performed better in the Lok Sabha polls if it had maintained its alliance with the AIADMK was a statement issued by BJP State spokesman A N S Prasad reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that the BJP was moving ahead on the right path in the State.

Soundararajan had endorsed a view expressed by AIADMK honcho S P Velumani that the former allies would have garnered 30 to 35 seats if they had stood together in the elections and that it was spoiled by Annamalai, which led to the supporters of Annamalai targeting her on social media.

Accusing the BJP’s war room of attacking her, Sondararajan warned them that she would take action against them as a former State president of the party. She also openly said in an interview to a Tamil channel that the State BJP was now filled with anti-social elements, which was construed as as a dig at Annamalai.

So, the speculation is that Amit Shah was angry with her for openly taking on Annamalai. Prasad, too, said in his statement that discussing internal party matters was a Congress culture and that some people were criticizing the State leadership despite the party increasing its vote share in the elections, indirectly referring to Soundararajan.