Chennai: Factionalism within the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit came to the fore Wednesday after a video clip surfaced of Union Home Minister Amit Shah having an animated conversation with former state BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan, on the sidelines of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and NDA ally N. Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing-in ceremony.

While details of the conversation are unclear, supporters of Soundararajan and Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai were quick to ascribe meaning to the video. 

“…but, what could be the reason for this “public” warning? Unwarranted public comments,” he asked, in a reference to comments Tamilisai made in an interview to a YouTube channel in the aftermath of the Lok Sabha polls.

Kalyan Raman, in charge of the Tamil Nadu BJP’s intellectual cell, termed it a “gleeful misinterpretation” which he alleged was “engineered by Annamalai to keep himself afloat from facing voice of dissent”.

A video is being circulated, seemingly taken in Andhrapradesh in which @AmitShah Bhai and @DrTamilisai4BJP were talking. It is interpreted as admonishment of her by Amit Bhai. All those who are talking about Admonishment are all from the same lose knit Warroom group of paid…

— Kalyan Raman (மோடியின் குடும்பம்) (@KalyaanBJP_) June 12, 2024

After the BJP-led NDA drew a blank in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Tamilisai told a YouTube channel that the party may have fared better had its alliance with the AIADMK remained intact — a position contrary to the one taken by IPS officer-turned-politician Annamalai. She went on to add that “anti-social elements” had entered the party in the state.

While Tamilisai clarified that she did not think Annamalai was a “bad” leader, her remarks gave way to speculation about infighting within the Tamil Nadu BJP.

Asked about it, party sources said it has been indicated to Annamalai that he would continue to helm the state unit for now.

“In the NDA meeting that our leader (Annamalai) participated in, you could see the Prime Minister praising the Tamil Nadu unit for increasing (BJP’s) vote share. With the support of the Prime Minister and the central leadership, our leader will continue as president of the BJP at least till the 2026 assembly election,” a senior BJP leader told ThePrint.

While evading questions about infighting within the state unit he has been heading since July 2021, Annamalai told ThePrint that he would continue to perform the duties assigned to him. “I was in Delhi for the NDA meeting and it went well. I would continue to do my duties given to me by the central leadership,” he said. Asked if he was only open to working for the party in Tamil Nadu, he responded: “I would work in any state.”

ThePrint also reached Tamilisai Soundararajan for a response but she refused to comment.

In the just concluded Lok Sabha polls, candidates of the BJP-led NDA lost their deposit in as many as 21 seats. Of the 23 seats the BJP contested, its candidates lost their deposits in 11 seats and managed second position in 9 — most of these seats are in southern Tamil Nadu. Candidates fielded by its allies including Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) lost their deposits in 10 of the 16 seats they contested and secured second place in two.

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Tamil Nadu Nadu BJP infighting

Though the BJP and AIADMK ultimately severed ties last September, Annamalai had already proposed the idea of going solo in the Lok Sabha polls in March that year.

Following the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections, which both Annamalai and Tamilisai contested unsuccessfully, AIADMK’s S.P. Velumani was among the first to suggest that had the alliance with the BJP remained intact, the two parties would have won “at least 30 seats”.

“But, it was because of the Annamalai speech, we were forced to sever ties. When Tamilisai Soundararajan or L. Murugan were presidents of (state) BJP, this is not how it used to be. They were very cordial and respectful towards alliance partners,” said Velumani, referring to remarks Annamalai made last year that were seen as critical of the late J. Jayalalithaa.

Responding to Velumani, Annamalai said he would never agree to an alliance with the AIADMK as long as he was president of the state unit. Wondering how the combine would have won 30 seats when the AIADMK could not manage to win a single seat on its own, he affirmed that the BJP would contest the 2026 assembly polls without the AIADMK as an ally.

This was followed by an interview Tamilisai, the former governor of Telangana and lieutenant governor of Puducherry, gave to Tamil news channel Polimer News on 6 June. In the interview, she suggested that the decision not to ally with the AIADMK for the Lok Sabha elections may have been a misstep. “We are not candidates who would lose an election. Had we been with the AIADMK, we would have won a few seats. But, the current leader (Annamalai) felt otherwise and as a result we lost it,” she had said.

At a press meet in Chennai that same day, she warned members of the BJP IT cell that as a former president of the state unit, she can “take action on those who write degrading posts on social media”.

Her remarks triggered a slugfest within the Tamil Nadu BJP with some of her supporters even calling for Annamalai’s resignation. 

Kalyana Raman, a former functionary of the state BJP’s intellectual cell, blamed Annamalai for the poor showing in Tamil Nadu.

“The BJP’s vote share in Tamil Nadu has not increased, In fact, it has decreased. In 2019, BJP contested in nine constituencies and the vote share was 5.56 percent. However, this time despite contesting in 23 seats, the vote share is just 11.24 percent. On a pro rata basis, if you see, the vote percentage is lower than what we got in 2019,” he told ThePrint.

According to the Election Commission of India, in 2024, BJP fielded candidates in 23 of Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats and secured 11.24 percent of the total votes polled in the state. In 2019, the party had fielded candidates in five seats and secured 3.6 percent of the total votes polled.

Among those who came to Annamalai’s defence was Trichy Suriya Siva, a former secretary of the Tamil Nadu BJP’s OBC wing and son of DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, who credited Annamalai with bringing new blood to the party.

“It should also be noted that all the criminals joined the party only during the tenure of L. Murugan and Tamilisai Soundararajan. I can even show the list of criminals who joined when they were the presidents of the state party unit,” Trichy Suriya Siva told ThePrint.

This sentiment was echoed by political analyst Raveenthran Duraisamy who felt that Annamalai has proved himself.

“It is unfair to compare with the 2019 election since they (BJP) contested in alliance with AIADMK. Of the 5.56 percent of the votes (secured), it might also include votes cast in favour of the AIADMK. But, this time, they allied with PMK and other parties, whose vote share may not be equal to AIADMK’s. Now it is Edappadi K. Palaniswami who is on the backfoot. His supporters inside the BJP are now making noise,” Duraisamy told ThePrint.

But Tamilisai’s criticism was not the first instance of dissent within the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP.

In January 2023, actor and choreographer Gayathri Raghuram — former head of TN BJPs’ art and culture wing — quit the party after locking horns with Annamalai. In a post on X, she alleged that she was not given equal opportunity and that women were not safe under Annamalai’s leadership. She was suspended in November 2022 for bringing disrepute to the party. 

Similarly, in March 2023, 13 functionaries including IT wing secretary Nirmalkumar left the party and joined the AIADMK. They alleged that Annamalai had been acting against the interests of party workers.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)

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