Why Modi staying in power depends on his ally’s old dream
After ten years in power with his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the majority, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged from the 2024 election dependent on the BJP’s allies to continue to govern. The largest ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), with its 16 members of Parliament, and headed by three-time Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Naidu’s main demand for keeping Modi in power: that the central government revive and finance his dream project of a new state capital, named Amravati (‘place for immortals’). It is to be sustainable – and “more modern” than Singapore.
Naidu visited New Delhi on July 4, before Modi left for Moscow for the first bilateral visit of his third term – and demanded more than one trillion rupees ($12 billion) in grants, of which 500 billion rupees was for building Amaravati.
Out of the total 1 trillion rupees, Naidu sought an allocation of 150 billion rupees for Amravati in the current fiscal year.
Modi has no choice as his BJP has only 240 MPs; 272 are needed to control Parliament. People expect that whatever Naidu wants, Naidu will get.
Jagan’s Three Capitals Plan
Just days after Jagan took over in May 2019, he did not want Naidu’s ‘baby’ to succeed, according to Rao. So Jagan alleged massive corruption in the Amaravati project, and laid the groundwork to cancel it eventually. By December 2019, he made a unique proposal for three capitals for the state: Visakhapatnam as the administrative capital, Kurnool as the judicial capital and Amaravati as the legislative capital.
Farmers who had given up their lands immediately took to the streets in protest. They were beaten by police, and the controversy snowballed. The matter went to court, with the AP High Court ruling that Jagan’s government had no grounds to stop Amravati’s development, as the state government was committed to a signed agreement.
It also directed Jagan’s government to develop Amaravati within six months and stick to the master plan prepared by his predecessor. The government promptly approached the Supreme Court, which stayed the high court’s decision.
“When Amaravati was initially announced, the land ranged from Rs 2 million ($24,000) to Rs 5 million ($60,000) per acre in different villages,” Rao said. “When Jagan came to power, no one was interested in purchasing the land. Now with Naidu back at the helm, prices have skyrocketed. One acre is now Rs 30-50 million ($360,000 to $600,000).
Amaravati Today
Half-constructed buildings, clogged drainage systems, and dug-up approach roads are what greets visitors to Amaravati today. The buildings include 13-floor legislators’ apartments, All India Service multi-storeyed apartments, bungalows meant for top administrators, the secretariat and General Administration Department towers, and non-governmental organization (NGO) quarters.
The only functional buildings are the High Court and the legislative assembly.
But over the past three weeks, Amaravati has witnessed a burst of activity. Excavators, tractors and other heavy machinery are clearing the overgrowth and the drainage. Senior government officials visit daily to supervise work and to assess the next few steps.
Naidu Rides Again
“Amaravati will be our capital,” Naidu declared after storming back to power on June 4. “You will now witness hectic activity as new roads will be laid and all other facilities created.”
During a visit, Naidu, who prostrated himself at the site, sought suggestions from the public on how to develop Amaravati; he accused his predecessor of causing “complete devastation.” “I am not able to understand what to do, where to start and how to proceed,” he said, filled with emotion.
There are challenges ahead. The World Bank and AIIB withdrew from the project after Jagan shelved it in 2019. Getting them back on board, along with other international firms had signed on, is a major task. Naidu has now set a 30-month deadline to complete the construction of those buildings that are 90% finished.
