Newsmaker | Who is Tamilisai Soundararajan, the BJP leader ‘admonished’ by Amit Shah?

“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,” Soundararajan said.

On Wednesday, several BJP handles shared a video of an interaction between Shah and Soundararajan while on stage at Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing-in as Andhra Pradesh CM. Karthik Gopinath, state vice-president of the BJP’s social media cell, shared it on social media 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?”

The daughter of former state Congress chief Kumari Ananthan, Soundararajan has been an influential figure in the BJP for over a decade, diverging from her family’s political lineage. In her political career with the BJP spanning more than two decades, Soundararajan has held important electoral and administrative posts. Her appointment as the Tamil Nadu BJP chief in 2014, with Shah’s brief to “develop the party’s base outside the Hindi heartland”, surprised many.

The distinct advantage Soundararajan is believed to have had over other BJP leaders in the state was her proximity to the top leadership. Back in 2011, she referred to Narendra Modi as “the next PM” from the stage of the Sadbhavana Yatra in Ahmedabad. BJP sources said her comparison of Modi with the late Tamil cinema matinee idol and Tamil Nadu CM M G Ramachandran went down well with the then Gujarat CM. Soundarajan later went on to write a memoir, Narendra Modi and Memorable Tea Moments, about her meetings with Modi.

She was appointed the Telangana Governor in September 2019 after a string of electoral defeats, including the 2019 Lok Sabha election loss to DMK MP Kanimozhi from Thoothukudi. However, all her losses — whether fighting Lok Sabha polls in 2009 or the Assembly polls in 2006, 2011 and 2016 — were tough fights given that the BJP is only a marginal player in Tamil Nadu.

During her tenure as Telangana Governor, she was given additional responsibility as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry in February 2021, replacing Kiran Bedi. Soundarajan had her share of controversies like other governors in Opposition-ruled parties under the Modi government.

Tensions between Soundararajan and the then BRS government led by K Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR, spiked between September and November 2022, particularly over issues of protocol and authority. In September 2022, she accused the BRS government of disrespecting her office, highlighting incidents such as being prevented from hoisting the national flag and the absence of official receptions during her visits. Her handling of the Telangana Universities Common Recruitment Board Bill, 2022 — which she delayed signing — also led to criticism from state education officials.

The conflict escalated when she began holding “praja darbars” to directly address citizens’ grievances, bypassing the state government that in turn accused her of political bias and attempts at undermining it. The issue peaked with disputes over appointments and official communications when Soundararajan alleged a lack of cooperation by the state’s ministers and officials.

She resigned as Governor in March and returned to electoral politics, contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the largely urban Chennai South constituency. With the DMK-led alliance sweeping the polls in Tamil Nadu, Soundararajan lost to T Sumathy of the ruling party by more than 2.25 lakh votes.