Hyderabad: Promising to continue with Amaravati as Andhra Pradesh’s capital if he wins the upcoming Assembly elections, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo and ex-chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said that Amaravati will be the state’s “permanent” capital. His statement is significant as the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in AP under chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has been planning to shift the capital to Visakhapatnam, after failing to implement its three capital idea since 2020.
“No power on earth can disturb Amaravati which will continue to be the capital of the State. Let us chase out the traitors of Amaravati,” Chandrababu Naidu said, attacking the YSRCP during a public meeting on Friday at Tadikonda. The TDP supremo said that he salutes the 25000 farmers who gave up about 33,000 acres of their lands in and around Amaravathi to build the new capital during the previous TDP government.
After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, the TDP (in alliance with BJP) came to power. While Hyderabad was to be the joint capital of both states until 2024, Naidu within a few years announced that he would build a new capital – Amaravati. Situated between Guntur and Vijaywada, Naidu’s government had roped in various investors from across the world to develop the city, which he wanted to model after Singapore.
However, his plans were laid to rest after the YSRCP came to power in 2019, and decided to scrap Naidu’s Amaravati idea by 2020. The Jagan Mohan Reddy government decided to have three capitals at Amaravati (Legislative), Kurnool (judicial) and Visakhapatnam (executive). This move was challenged by many in the Andhra Pradesh high court, including farmers who had given up land for Amaravati. Eventually, in a blow to the YSRCP government, the court struck it down asking it to continue with Amaravati.
Since then, the YSRCP government has maintained that it will soon shift the capital to Visakhapatnam. However, with the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections underway upcoming in Andhra, the winner will decide the fate of the new capital. On Saturday, Naidu made it clear that he will continue with Amaravati.
“I wanted to develop Amaravati in such a way that the whole world should look at this city and I wanted Amaravati to be the city to generate maximum revenue. But the situation is so bad now that the youth have to migrate to neighbouring States in search of employment, he said. Can anyone say what is the capital of Andhra Pradesh?” Chandrababu Naidu asked during his meeting.
The TDP chief said he will make sure to develop both Visakhapatnam and Kurnool as well, adding that Visakhapatnam will be the economic capital and Kurnool will be the horticulture capital in Andhra if the TDP comes to power.
In the 2019 Andhra Assembly elections, the YSRCP swept it by winning 151 out of 175 seats. The TDP, which had broken its alliance with the BJP in 2018, contested alone as the Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP) also decided to go solo. The result was disastrous for Naidu (and his Amaravati plan) and Pawan Kalyan, as the TDP and JSP won only 23 and one constituencies each.
In the upcoming elections, the TDP, JSP and BJP will be contesting elections together, making it tougher for the YSRCP to win. Moreover, Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sister YS Sharmila has also joined the Congress as its president, and will be contesting as an MP from the Kadap seat. The YSRCP has also lost a few sitting MLAs to the Congress, which might see better fortunes this time around.
