Jagan calls Amaravati capital plan unviable, backs Mavigun as Andhra's future
Synopsis
Jagan Mohan Reddy didn’t just attack Amaravati — he offered a counter-capital. His Mavigun pitch, backed by a ₹15,000–20,000 crore cost estimate against Amaravati’s ballooning secretariat bill of ₹10,665 crore for five buildings alone, reframes the capital debate as a fiscal argument, not just a political one.
Key Takeaways
Former Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S.
Jagan Mohan Reddy on 21 May declared Amaravati will “never become a reality.” He proposed Mavigun (Machilipatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur) as an immediately functional capital alternative.
Jagan estimated Mavigun development would cost ₹15,000–20,000 crore over 5–7 years — roughly 10% of projected Amaravati expenditure.
The Amaravati Secretariat’s five buildings have already exceeded ₹10,665 crore , compared to ₹615 crore for the Telangana Secretariat.
Jagan alleged that Amaravati contracts were awarded through a “tailor-made and rigged” re-tendering process in 2024 .
He alleged political violence by the TDP and made personal claims about the deaths of family members, which remain unverified.
YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday, 21 May declared that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's Amaravati capital project will “never become a reality,” and renewed his push for the Mavigun region — encompassing Machilipatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur — as a practical and immediately functional alternative. Jagan made the remarks at a press conference held at the YSRCP party office in Tadepalli.
Jagan’s Case Against Amaravati
“What Chandrababu is conceiving will never be a reality. You know that. I know that. Anybody with reasonable common sense would agree to that,” Jagan said, arguing that even after one, two, or three decades, Andhra Pradesh risks being left without a functional state capital if the Amaravati project continues on its current trajectory.
He also flagged what he described as runaway infrastructure costs in Amaravati, noting that the new Secretariat — comprising just five buildings — has already exceeded ₹10,665 crore in expenditure. For comparison, he cited the Telangana Secretariat, built by former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, which reportedly cost approximately ₹615 crore and spans nearly 10 lakh square feet.
The Mavigun Proposal: What It Offers
Jagan argued that the Mavigun cluster already possesses the essential infrastructure a state capital requires — a port at Machilipatnam, an international airport at Vijayawada, four national highways, three railway stations, and nine medical colleges and educational institutions. “The moment you declare Mavigun as a capital, it comes into existence,” he said.
He claimed that the government would need to spend only on improving connectivity, and that a total outlay of ₹15,000 crore to ₹20,000 crore over five to seven years — roughly 10 per cent of the projected Amaravati expenditure — would suffice. “Accept Mavigun rather than constructing buildings there. Shift them over here,” he urged.
Allegations of Irregularities in Amaravati Contracts
The YSRCP leader alleged that the same companies awarded contracts by Naidu’s government before 2019 were again handed those works in 2024, after the original tenders had been cancelled and re-tendered. He claimed the process was “tailor-made and rigged,” enabling a select set of contractors to benefit from the Amaravati construction programme. These are allegations; the state government has not publicly responded to the specific claims made at Thursday’s press conference.
Political Accusations and Violence Claims
Jagan also pushed back against Chief Minister Naidu’s reported characterisation of the YSRCP as a ‘Goddila party’ (Axe party) and his accusations of “politics of murder.” The YSRCP chief alleged that it was in fact the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) that had practised political violence, citing the deaths of several YSRCP leaders and workers since the coalition government came to power in 2024.
He also made personal allegations, claiming his grandfather Raja Reddy — father of late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) — was killed by TDP-affiliated individuals, and that those responsible were sheltered at the TDP headquarters in Hyderabad. He further alleged that Naidu had made a threatening remark to YSR during an Assembly session, and that YSR’s helicopter subsequently crashed “under suspicious circumstances.” These are Jagan’s allegations and have not been independently verified.
What Comes Next
Jagan’s renewed Mavigun campaign signals that the Andhra Pradesh capital dispute — one of the most contentious political fault lines in the state since its bifurcation in 2014 — is far from settled. With Naidu’s government pressing ahead with Amaravati development and the opposition mounting a cost-and-feasibility challenge, the debate is likely to intensify ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Point of View
665 crore secretariat figure, if accurate, is the kind of number that travels; it gives the opposition a concrete handle in a debate that had previously been abstract. But Jagan’s own five-year tenure saw the Amaravati project stall rather than redirect, which means his cost-efficiency argument will face scrutiny over what was actually built during that period. The deeper question — whether Andhra Pradesh can afford to keep debating its capital a decade after bifurcation — is one neither side has convincingly answered.
NationPress
7 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Mavigun capital proposal by Jagan Mohan Reddy?
Mavigun is a proposed capital region comprising Machilipatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur, advocated by YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy as a cost-effective alternative to Amaravati. Jagan argues the region already has essential infrastructure — an international airport, a port, national highways, railway stations, and medical colleges — requiring only connectivity improvements at an estimated cost of ₹15,000–20,000 crore over five to seven years.
Why does Jagan say Amaravati will never become a reality?
Jagan argues that Amaravati is financially unviable and impractical, pointing to the Amaravati Secretariat’s cost already exceeding ₹10,665 crore for just five buildings. He claims that even after decades of investment, Andhra Pradesh could still be left without a functional capital if the project continues on its current path.
How does the Amaravati Secretariat cost compare to Telangana’s?
According to Jagan, the Telangana Secretariat — built by former CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao — cost approximately ₹615 crore and spans nearly 10 lakh square feet. By contrast, the Amaravati Secretariat’s five buildings have reportedly already exceeded ₹10,665 crore, a figure Jagan cited to allege large-scale financial irregularities.
What allegations did Jagan make about Amaravati contracts?
Jagan alleged that the same companies awarded contracts by Chandrababu Naidu’s government before 2019 were again given those works in 2024, after original tenders were cancelled and re-tendered. He claimed the process was tailor-made and rigged. The state government has not publicly responded to these specific allegations.
What is the background of the Andhra Pradesh capital dispute?
The Andhra Pradesh capital question has been unresolved since the state’s bifurcation in 2014, when Hyderabad became the capital of the newly formed Telangana. Chandrababu Naidu’s government has championed Amaravati as a greenfield capital, while Jagan’s YSRCP government (2019–2024) halted the project and proposed a three-capital model. The current TDP-led coalition has revived the Amaravati plan, which the YSRCP continues to oppose.
