Chandrababu Naidu stakes claim to form AP government; Amaravati to be capital of Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: Amaravati is the capital of Andhra Pradesh, said Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu. On Tuesday, Naidu, Jana Sena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan and AP BJP state president Bhuvaneswari held the NDA alliance meeting with the newly elected MLAs.

During the meeting, JSP announced its support for Chandrababu Naidu as the chief minister candidate. Similarly, JSP founder Pawan Kalyan was elected as the party’s floor leader in the AP Assembly.

‘Visakhapatnam will become financial capital’

In the meeting, the leaders discussed various ways to develop cities and towns in the State.

Naidu said he will develop Visakhapatnam into an financial capital and Kurnool will also witness development on many lines. During his election campaign, Naidu had promised to revive Amaravati. And now that the TDP government will form the government after its landslide victory in the 2024 Assembly elections, the development of Amaravati is back in the limelight.

‘No more three capitals’

“In our government, there will be no games under the guise of three capitals. Our capital is Amaravati. Amaravati is the capital,” asserted Naidu.

As the first chief minister of bifurcated Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2019, he floated the idea of Amaravati as the capital city. However, this brainchild of Naidu suffered a setback in 2019 when the TDP lost power and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP won a landslide victory.

Jagan poured cold water on the Amaravati capital city plans and propounded a new theory of three capitals, which Naidu has now replaced with the decision to establish a single capital.

What were Jagan’s three capitals?

In 2019, the YSR Congress Party halted the development of Amaravati. The YSRCP government introduced a proposal for three capitals in December 2019: Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, Amaravati as the legislative capital and Kurnool as the judicial capital.

In March 2022, the Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the YSRCP government to develop Amaravati as the State capital, a decision the government challenged in the Supreme Court, where it remains pending.

Announcing that he will take charge as the CM for the fourth time, Naidu said the Central government has ‘assured’ its cooperation to develop the southern state. He vowed that Amaravati would be the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh and also promised to complete the Polavaram Project.

Further, he said the port city of Visakhapatnam will be developed as an economic capital and an advanced special city.

Pawan Kalyan gets emotional

JSP party president and Pithapuram MLA Pawan Kalyan became emotional while speaking about Chandrababu Naidu. “He is a strong leader. I have seen how Chandrababu Naidu struggled in jail and how Nara Bhuvaneswari garu suffered along with him. Good days have come for us now finally,” said Pawan Kalyan.

How many ministers is Jana Sena expecting?

Sources said, Pawan Kalyan and other top leaders may be seeking portfolios around Agriculture, Rural Development and IT respectively.

While there have been rumours about Pawan Kalyan being offered the deputy chief minister post, the leaders and cadre feel Pawan Kalyan is above that.

So far, the actor-turned-politician has not discussed any post for himself, a top source confirmed to NewsMeter. “We are considering to ask for 4-5 Cabinet ministers,” the source confirmed.

NDA leaders met the governor

Andhra Pradesh NDA leaders on Tuesday met governor S Abdul Nazeer and requested him to invite TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu to form the new government, said senior TDP leader K Atchhannaidu.

He said Nazeer agreed to invite Chandrababu Naidu to form the government.

“Leaders of all three parties (TDP, JSP and BJP) met the governor and requested him to invite Chandrababu Naidu to immediately form the government. And he (Nazeer) told us that he will immediately extend the invitation to form the government,” Atchen Naidu told reporters.

One day to go for Naidu’s swearing-in

Arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony of chief minister-designate N Chandrababu Naidu and his council of ministers are underway, near Kesarapalli IT Park in Gannavaram.

Chandrababu Naidu will take oath as Andhra Pradesh chief minister at 11.27 am on June 12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some of his Cabinet colleagues are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Amit Shah to arrive a day early

The Union Home Minister, Amith Shah, will be visiting Chandrababu Naidu’s residence on Tuesday evening.

Amith Shah, who will be attending the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday, is arriving a day early and is meeting Chandrababu at 10 pm on Tuesday at his Vundavalli residence. Both are expected to discuss the ongoing National as well as State political scenario.

Mega family to attend swearing-in

The ‘Mega’ family of Pawan Kalyan are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Sources said actor Chiranjeevi and his spouse Surekha and Ram Charan might attend the event.