‘Amaravati will be Andhra Pradesh’s only capital’: Naidu before taking oath
Amaravati will be the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh and the earlier government’s plan of three capitals for the coastal state will be junked, chief minister-designate N Chandrababu Naidu said on Tuesday.
Amaravati will be the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh and the earlier government’s plan of three capitals for the coastal state will be junked, chief minister-designate N Chandrababu Naidu said on Tuesday, a day before he takes oath at a high-profile ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief was unanimously elected as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislature party in Andhra Pradesh at a meeting of the newly elected MLAs of the three parties in the alliance – TDP, Jana Sena Party and Bharatiya Janata Party – held at Vijayawada.
The CM-designate declared that Amaravati would be the only capital of the state and there was no place for three capitals, an idea mooted by his rival and former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
“However, we shall develop Visakhapatnam as the financial capital and the most modern city. At the same time, we shall also focus on the development of Kurnool in the Rayalaseema region on all fronts,” he asserted.
The Andhra Pradesh government under Jagan Mohan Reddy had decided to make three capitals in different cities – through the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Act, 2020 and the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020 – to ensure development in all parts of the state. However, the high court in March 2022 ruled that Amaravati is the only capital city of the state and directed the then government to develop it within a period of six months.
The high court had passed its 307-page verdict on a batch of 63 writ petitions filed by aggrieved farmers of Amaravati region against the state government’s decision to make Visakhapatnam the executive capital, Kurnool the judiciary capital and Amaravati as the legislative capital of Andhra Pradesh.
In November 2022, the Supreme Court stayed the high court judgment, saying that the latter cannot be a “town planner” or an “engineer” to direct the government to build the capital in six months and that it had “overstepped its limit” in the matter.
The farmers, who gave away 34,000 acres of land for the Amaravati capital, are fighting a battle in the Supreme Court against the creation of the three capitals.
Naidu had categorically declared during the electioneering that he would make all out efforts to restore the glory of Amaravati capital city. Soon after the election results, his son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh declared that the Amaravati project would be expedited.
In the 175-member state assembly, the NDA won 164 seats, including 135 by the TDP, 21 by the Jana Sena and eight by the BJP. The YSR Congress party led by Jagan Mohan Reddy was restricted to 11 seats. The TDP is also the second-largest constituent of the NDA at the Centre with 16 Lok Sabha seats.
On Tuesday, Jana Sena Party chief and Pithapuram MLA K Pawan Kalyan proposed the name of Naidu as the leader of NDA in the state assembly and the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance. It was supported by TDP state president K Atchennaidu and BJP state president Daggubati Purandeshwari.
Earlier, Naidu was elected as the leader of the TDP legislature party by party MLAs at the party state headquarters at Mangalagiri. Similarly, Pawan Kalyan was elected as leader of the Jana Sena legislature party at his party office.
Later in the afternoon, Atchennaidu, Purandeshwari and Jana Sena Party political affairs committee chairman Nadendla Manohar met governor S Abdul Nazeer at Raj Bhavan and submitted separate letters of their respective legislature parties, stating they had unanimously elected Naidu as their leader and chief minister of the state.
In a communique issued in the evening, special chief secretary of Raj Bhavan, A K Singhal, said the governor invited Naidu to form the government. “The swearing-in ceremony will take place near Kesarapalli near Vijayawada international airport at Gannavaram, at 11.27 am on Wednesday,” the communique said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Union health minister J P Nadda, several other central ministers, chief ministers of various NDA-ruled states and other VIPs including celebrities such as Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan and Rajinikanth will attend the swearing-in ceremony, the TDP said in a statement.
Earlier, addressing the newly elected MLAs of the NDA partners, Naidu said his administration will usher in a people’s regime in the state and every decision would be in the interest of the people. “Unlike the previous government which began with the destruction of praja vedika (people’s dais), we are going to adopt a positive approach and not vindictive politics,” he said.
“There will be no space for any kind of unrest. We have the responsibility to rise up to the expectations of the people. I salute to all the people of the state for the verdict that they have given,” Naidu said.
He thanked Pawan Kalyan for extending support when the TDP was facing a difficult situation, particularly when Naidu was in jail in connection with a ₹371 crore skill development corporation scam. “Pawan Kalyan stood solidly by me. It was Pawan Kalyan who had taken initiative in forming the alliance to see that the anti-incumbency vote would not get divided,” he said.
He recalled how he was subject to humiliation on the floor of the state assembly during the previous government and said he had taken a vow to enter the assembly again only in the capacity of the chief minister. “Now, I am going to fulfil my vow, thanks to the huge mandate given by the people,” he said.
According to a TDP leader privy to the development, Naidu is inducting four MLAs from Jana Sena Party, including its president K Pawan Kalyan as deputy chief minister, and two MLAs from BJP.
“As per the norms, there shall be a maximum of 25 ministers in the state cabinet, apart from the chief minister. In all probability, Naidu may form a complete cabinet on Wednesday. But there is also a possibility that he may induct 20 ministers in the first phase on Wednesday and will fill up the remaining vacancies in another two or three months,” the TDP leader said, declining to be named.
While former rebel YSRCP MP and present TDP MLA from Undi constituency, Kanumuru Raghu Ramakrishnam Raju, is expected to be made the speaker of the state legislative assembly, Jana Sena Party legislator Bolisetty Srinivasa Rao is being considered for the deputy speaker’s post, the TDP leader said.