Why it's raining goodies in Andhra Pradesh

When N. Chandrababu Naidu stormed out of the NDA in 2018 over denial of Special Category Status (SCS) to the truncated Andhra Pradesh, the BJP central leadership treated his exit as good riddance. No attempt was made to look into his wish list. This was because the saffron party had a majority on its own in Parliament and did not need the support of allies.

Seven years later, it’s raining goodies in Andhra Pradesh. The Centre has been liberal in granting special funds, sanctioning new projects and facilitating external loans. The reasons are not far to seek. With 16 Lok Sabha MPs, Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is the largest ally in NDA 3.0, holding the key to the stability and longevity of the coalition government.

Be it Amaravati, the ‘dream’ capital city, or the Polavaram irrigation project, the Union government has been pampering Andhra Pradesh with liberal doles of funds. What’s the proof, you ask? Look no farther than the recent decision to sanction a semiconductor manufacturing project for Andhra, when the Congress-ruled Telangana had completed all the necessary groundwork for the project.

“By sidelining a fully prepared, investment-ready proposal in favour of an incomplete one, the Centre has chosen political considerations over merit. Such decisions defy logic, undermine fairness and send a troubling message to global investors about India’s policy priorities. Telangana has earned its rightful place in the national semiconductor growth story — and we will not accept being denied it,” said Telangana I-T minister D. Sridhar Babu.

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The Centre’s decision to pass over Telangana in the India Semiconductor Mission was received with widespread outrage. Condemning the NDA government’s “step-motherly treatment” towards the state, Sridhar Babu said, “Telangana’s proposal is backed by ready-to-use land (10 acres at Maheshwaram), approved subsidies, investor commitments and a clear implementation roadmap (with all clearances completed in record time). In Andhra Pradesh, not even land has been allotted.”

However, TDP spokesperson N. Vijay Kumar dismissed allegations of bias as baseless. “With Quantum Computing Valley coming up fast in Amaravati, it is but natural that Andhra aspires for a semiconductor unit. Further, both the industrial nodes in Rayalaseema — Kopparthi in Kadapa and Orvakal in Kurnool — are progressing well... Besides Sri-City, land [is available] at Electronic City, Tirupati, as envisaged by the previous TDP government,” Kumar said.

Naidu and his colleagues have predictably hailed the development. “This facility will enhance India’s back-end semiconductor manufacturing capacity and foster a complete electronics ecosystem in AP,” said the chief minister.

Being set up by ASIP Technologies in collaboration with APACT Co. Ltd, South Korea, the facility aims at an annual production capacity of 96 million units. The total investment is expected to be around Rs 468 crore, with the Centre providing a 50 per cent subsidy and the state government contributing 25 per cent.

The ‘special treatment’ for Andhra Pradesh reflects in funds allocated in the 2024–25 Union Budget. In addition to Rs 15,000 crore special assistance for the industrial and infrastructural development of Amaravati, it has received over Rs 95,500 crore in tax and non-tax revenue, along with Rs 30,334 crore as special assistance. Additionally, Rs 11,444 crore was allocated for the revival of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and Rs 12,157 crore for the Polavaram irrigation project.

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‘Vote chori’, Andhra style

The entire nation is talking about ‘vote theft’ including NDA-ruled Andhra Pradesh. The opposition YSR Congress Party, headed by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, has alleged widespread rigging, impersonation, intimidation and misuse of official machinery in the recent Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) by-election in Pulivendula, Kadapa district.

The TDP’s Latha Reddy defeated YSRCP’s Hemant Reddy — son of sitting member Maheshwar Reddy whose death necessitated the poll — by a margin of over 6,000 votes. The significance of this intriguing outcome was not lost on political observers. Kadapa district, particularly Pulivendula, has long been a YSRCP citadel. The YSRCP has historically swept all elections here with commanding margins.

Losing the constituency held by his father Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy — up until his death in a helicopter crash in September 2009 — is a major setback for Jagan who represents Pulivendula in the Assembly.

A morale-booster for Naidu, this win is expected to strengthen his party’s efforts to take over Rayalaseema in future elections. While the TDP called the result a ‘victory for democracy’, the YSRCP has submitted two petitions to the State Election Commission (SEC) requesting information, including polling station details and CCTV footage, video coverage of incidents, webcasting records, list of polling agents and the presiding officer’s diary.

It alleged that the ruling party, in cahoots with the police, seized polling booths, barred YSRCP agents, snatched their authorisation forms and prevented supporters from voting. Despite 35 complaints to the SEC, including evidence of an attempted attack on YSRCP leaders before the polls, no action was taken.