Former Telangana Governor and Tamil Nadu BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday rubbished speculations regarding a viral video in which Union Home Minister Amit Shah seemed to be speaking sternly to her. She clarified that Amit Shah had advised her to “carry out political and constituency work intensively.”

The speculations arose on Wednesday after an 11-second video from TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing-in ceremony went viral on social media. In the video, Amit Shah appears to be speaking animatedly to Soundararajan while gesturing with his finger.

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In a post on X on Thursday evening, Soundararajan, the former Governor of Telangana, said that she met Amit Shah for the first time after the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll results. She explained that they were discussing “post-poll follow-up.”

“Yesterday as I met our Honorable Home Minister Sri @AmitShah ji in AP for the first time after the 2024 Elections he called me to ask about post poll followup and the challenges faced,” she said, adding, “as I was elaborating, due to paucity of time with utmost concern, he advised to carry out the political and constituency work intensively which was reassuring. This is to clarify all unwarranted speculations.”

Soundararajan contested from the South Chennai Lok Sabha seat but lost to DMK’s Tamizhachi Thangapandian.

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This comes amid rumours of an intra-party feud in the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP. Upon her return to Chennai on Wednesday, Soundararajan declined to comment when asked by reporters about the alleged discord within the party following her interaction with Amit Shah.

Speculation was fueled by her alleged remarks on “criminal elements” in the BJP and her assertion that “the party would have won had there been an alliance with the AIADMK.” Speaking to a YouTube channel, Tamilisai said, “I used to discourage and ignore anti-social elements from the party. But recently, a lot of such elements have entered the party and hold positions in some districts. Such practices should be prevented, and ordinary cadres who are working hard for the party should get their deserving space. That doesn’t mean that I think he (Annamalai) is a bad leader. Not at all, different leaders take decisions in different ways.”

Regarding the alliance issue, she stated, “We are proud about the increase in vote share, our candidates pushing AIADMK to the third position in 12 seats and making them lose their deposit in several seats. But all these figures will be discussed only for a few days after polls. Winning is important. Without winning the election, we cannot get to the next step. Only if we win the election, we can work for them for five years… So being a people’s representative is very crucial. There is nothing wrong in making it with the help of a good alliance.”