Chandrababu Naidu's return to Andhra politics with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has put Amaravati back in the spotlight. The capital's location has been a contentious issue since Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation in 2014, when Hyderabad was designated as a shared capital for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh until June 2, 2024, as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
With TDP pledging to restore Amaravati as the capital city, property prices have reportedly surged by 20 to 30 percent in the past few days.
"Real estate will flourish when there is a good government. You need to also have a face value, a brand image. Chandrababu Naidu has a face value, he has an image, he is widely respected, trusted and believed. Now that he has become the Chief Minister, it is not only real estate but every sector -- education, health, industry -- that will witness a rise. We will become the No 1 state in the country," said TDP spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari to India Today TV. India Today spoke to realtors in the region, who see the prices going up as Naidu, who is at present in Delhi negotiating his party's stake in the new government, planning to restart work soon on building it as the state capital.
Naidu initially planned to develop Amaravati as a greenfield capital at a cost of over Rs 50,000 crore, but the state's poor finances hindered progress. Critics accused him of selling a pipedream to a state still grappling with the division and the loss of Hyderabad.
When Jagan Mohan Reddy took power in 2019, all work in Amaravati halted, turning it into a ghost town. Reddy promoted Visakhapatnam as an investment destination and declared it the executive capital, with Amaravati as the legislative capital and Kurnool as the judicial capital. This three-capitals idea faced criticism despite Reddy's claims of decentralization. As of June 4, Andhra Pradesh officially lost its right over Hyderabad, solidifying the city's status as part of Telangana.
"Amaravati is the capital of Andhra Pradesh, there is no second thought about it. It will be developed," declared TDP's senior leader Kanakamedala Ravindrakumar to PTI.
Ravindrakumar criticized the YSRC government for hindering the development of Amaravati and other projects initiated by Naidu. He also accused the YSRC of committing human rights violations during its tenure.