Hyderabad: After modelling himself as the ‘farmers’ friend’ amid a spate of new irrigation projects across the state, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu used the Sharannavaratri festivities to project a softer, more inclusive cultural image of himself.
This time his government has modelled the Vijayawada Utsav on the grand Mysuru Dusshera festivities. His Telugu Desam Party (TDP) cabinet colleagues and political observers say the CM is trying to balance high-octane cultural diplomacy with strategic political objectives.
During the 10-day festival that concluded Tuesday, the CM and the ruling TDP-led government repositioned Vijayawada as the spiritual and cultural capital of Andhra, with Amaravati the newly-minted administrative capital. Just as Goddess Chamundeshwari is worshipped in Mysore and festivities held atop Chamundi hill, in Vijayawada too, during Dussehra, people worship Goddess Kanaka Durga, or Vijaya Durga, with grand festivities on Indrakeeladri hill.
Organised by the state tourism ministry, the festival brought together faith, classical art forms, folk performances, cultural events, and handicraft exhibitions, with more than 650 women’s self-help groups (SHGs) and 1,500 artisans participating.
Created under the ‘One City-One Celebration’ theme, the event was also home to another first: Naidu co-hosted the Dussehra festival along with the national-level SARAS, or Sale of Articles of Rural Artisans’ Society. Naidu was successful in moving the SARAS Mela away from Delhi for the first time, housing it at the Punnami Ghat alongside the Krishna River.
SARAS is a nationwide initiative backed by the Ministry of Rural Development under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana—National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) and regional bodies like the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) in both Andhra and Telangana.
Emphasising that the festival acts as an antidote to modern lifestyle pressures, the CM said yesterday at the closing ceremony, “While technology brings progress, it also causes intense stress. The spiritual elements of the Utsav held during the Dussehra Sharan Navaratri festivities act as a crucial means for people to “conquer their own minds” and find relief from the continuous cycle of social media consumption”.
But what turned Vijayawada into the epicentre of national outreach were visits by chief ministers, governors, and the President herself during the 10-day festival.
Given that Naidu’s political image is inextricably linked to him being a tech executive leading a state, Naidu used the Utsav to propose a river-linking project with his Tamil Nadu counterpart Joseph Vijay, in an attempt to bolster his image as a statesman.
“Vijay came asking for a few additional TMC of water; our chief minister put forth an entire proposal for linking rivers that would at once relieve us from droughts forever,” said Kesineni Sivanath, the Vijayawada MP.
“Through a triad of cultural pride, rural economic empowerment, and regional diplomacy, we have been able to appeal to a much larger grassroots audience. This is indeed the happiest moment for Vijayawada. That our Prime Minister Narendra Modi-ji has also written a letter mentioning that Vijayawada Utsav should be a grand success, and he has also mentioned that we should focus on skill development activities, is a matter of great pride for us,” he added.
Other prominent political visitors included President Droupadi Murmu, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav, Mizoram CM Lalduhoma, and a Chinese delegation, among others. Invitations were also sent to CMs of Telangana, Odisha, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.
Lalduhoma invited Andhra’s investors to explore business prospects in Mizoram and requested Naidu’s assistance in finding job opportunities for youth from Mizoram in Andhra Pradesh.
“By equating Vijayawada with religious fervour and grand festivities, the chief minister has not only established himself as a cultural anchor, but also laid the ground for his dream ‘Nava Nagaralu’, or ‘Nine Cities’ concept, the core of which revolves around the Vijayawada Durga temple and spiritual tourism,” said Prof K. Nagaraju, former head of department of political and social sciences, SK University.
“This is one of the few instances where Naidu has overplayed the religious angle and has not conceded space to either alliance member—the BJP or JSP. That Pawan Kalyan and the state BJP chief were largely absent is a testament to Naidu’s planned move to claim this event as his party’s,” Nagaraju added.
At the Vijayawada Utsav, Naidu also launched the ‘Swayam AP’ brand, where he announced that he aimed to transform rural women into wealth creators. Highlighting the contribution and reach of the women’s self-help groups, he set an ambitious target to empower another five lakh women by 2029.
“While the SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty) has already covered much ground on this, the CM’s announcement is to make known to the public and political fraternity that he is serious about his effort to merge his economic acumen with absolute grassroots populism. The position is clear: To counter the historical criticism that his policies have long favoured only corporates,” said a retired IAS officer who is now part of the P4 (Public-Private-People Partnership) advisory committee.
The CM’s outreach to his counterparts in other states has also not gone unnoticed. At a time when southern politics remains highly polarised amidst the electoral rolls revision issue, the outreach is also to ensure Naidu does not seem hostile to non-NDA leaders, political analysts who spoke to ThePrint said. Barring three BJP CMs, most of the invitations were sent to either Congress CMs or CMs of other states where the BJP is not in power.
“The Utsav was also a major transition in politics for Nara Lokesh. He was playing the role of a diplomat by receiving political dignitaries, thereby assuming a greater role outside state politics, which is also a sign that Vijayawada and Amaravati are not just about investments, but also a ground for political bonhomie has been firmly established,” said Prof Nagaraju.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)