Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, participated in Vijayawada Utsav 2.0 alongside Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at Punnami Ghat on the banks of the Krishna River in Vijayawada. The visit marked Vijay's first official trip to Vijayawada since assuming office as Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister, combining a cultural appearance with substantive bilateral talks on water-sharing and river-interlinking proposals.

Vijay's Telugu moment and cultural participation

Speaking briefly in Telugu, Chief Minister Vijay drew loud cheers from the festival crowd. 'I am very happy to meet all of you. I consider it a privilege to participate in these Navaratri celebrations,' he said at the event. He also extended Navaratri greetings to the gathering and thanked the people of Vijayawada for their hospitality. Prior to attending the festival, Vijay offered prayers at the Kanaka Durga Temple shortly after arriving from Chennai. The two chief ministers also watched colourful cultural performances and traditional dances together at the venue.

Water supply and river-interlinking talks

Beyond the cultural festivities, the visit carried significant policy weight. Vijay confirmed that the primary purpose of his trip was bilateral: 'I have come to Vijayawada to discuss the interlinking of rivers with CM Chandrababu. It brings me great joy to see you all,' he told the crowd. The discussions reportedly centred on water supply to Chennai and river-linking proposals involving the Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, and Penna rivers — a multi-state infrastructure ambition that, if realised, would benefit Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka.

What Chandrababu Naidu said

Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Naidu described Vijayawada as 'buzzing with excitement' on account of the Utsav. He highlighted Vijay's rapid political rise, noting that Vijay became Chief Minister within just two years of launching his party. 'It was Goddess Durga herself who brought him here,' Naidu said in an apparent reference to the Navaratri timing of the visit. Naidu also backed the river-interlinking vision: 'Anything is possible under Prime Minister Modi's leadership. The interlinking of the Godavari and Cauvery rivers will take place,' he said, projecting that connecting the four major rivers would bring watershed benefits to four southern states. He expressed confidence that India would become the world's top economy by 2047.

About Vijayawada Utsav

The annual festival is an initiative of Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni), conceived to showcase Vijayawada's hospitality, culture, traditions, and spiritual heritage at a national level. The second edition, held along the scenic ghats of the Krishna River during the Navaratri season, drew significant attention given the high-profile participation of two state chief ministers. Notably, this marks the growing trend of southern CMs using cultural platforms to advance inter-state diplomatic engagement — a soft-power approach that supplements formal government-to-government channels.

What comes next

The outcomes of the bilateral river-interlinking discussions are expected to feed into broader Centre-coordinated planning for peninsular river integration. With multiple southern states involved and Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly associated with the river-linking vision, the proposal could see renewed policy momentum in the months ahead.