Overview
- Amaravati’s status was formalized through a Gazette notification of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Act, 2026 after presidential assent, and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu hailed the move.
- YSRCP chief Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy countered with a MAVIGUN capital corridor linking Machilipatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur, saying it would cost a fraction of a greenfield Amaravati he pegs at ₹2 lakh crore.
- Reddy alleged inflated construction rates of about ₹14,000 per sq ft in Amaravati, contracts to relatives and benamis, and diversion of mobilisation advances as kickbacks, claims not verified in these reports.
- Naidu dismissed the cost claims, called Amaravati a self-financed project, mocked the MAVIGUN idea, and cited broad support in Parliament for the capital law.
- Reddy announced a padayatra to rally support for his plan, extending a years-long fight over a single new capital versus spreading key functions across the Vijayawada–Guntur region.