Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Thursday skipped a scheduled event in Kerala on Thursday, the Hindustan Times reported. He returned to New Delhi for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, which comes amid speculation of an upcoming announcement from the BJP.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked him [Shah] to stay in Delhi for some important consultations. He will join the yatra once his busy schedule is over,” BJP’s Kerala president Kummanam Rajasekhran said.

Shah was supposed to lead party workers into Pinarayi, the village where Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is from, as part of the Janraksha Yatra. The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) claimed that Shah had skipped the rally in Pinarayi because only a small crowd was expected. “Poor response forced the Bharatiya Janata Party president to call it a day. It shows people have rejected the much–publicised exercise of the saffron party,” said CPI(M)‘s Kerala secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

The Congress suggested that intense infighting in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kerala unit may also have been a factor in Shah’s decision to skip the rally. “Shah’s pull out clearly shows the party has run out of steam,” state Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala claimed. “The secular credentials of the state are very strong, and he cannot fan trouble here like in some north Indian states.”

But, the BJP countered the claims of the communists and the Congress. “Our political opponents are spreading canards. People who witnessed the last two days’ developments won’t say this,” Rajasekhran said. The saffron party’s rally passed through Pinarayi without incident.