Hyderabad is no longer the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Back in 2014 when the two state split, it had been stipulated in the AP Reorganisation Act of 2014 that Hyderabad will serve as the joint capital for a period not more than ten years.
Hence, as of June 2, 2024, Hyderabad will now be marked as the capital and Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will now work towards announcing a new capital city for the state. This announcement for Hyderabad comes on the tenth anniversary of Telangana Formations Day.
Hyderabad No Longer Joint Capital City
As per Section 5(1) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation act, Hyderabad had been designated as the common capital for AP and Telangana from 2014 and 2024.
Section 5(2) of the reorganisation act added that after this 10-year period is over, Hyderabad would serve as the sole capital for Telangana. Based on this, Andhra Pradesh must announce a new capital.
Amaravati Or Visakhapatnam - Which City Will Be AP's New Capital?
Soon after the formation of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh stopped using Hyderavad as its capital city. However, the southern state is yet to formally name a new capital.
In the past ten years, the state of Andhra Pradesh has reported disputes for the designation of the capital city. The ongoing dispute primarily revolves around two cities - Amaravati and Visakhapatnam. However, a third city is also in the fray.
AP Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has been projected to lose the 2024 assembly elections, has stated at multiple occasions that if he were to stay in power, all three cities in the state would serve as the capitals. As per the AP CM, Visakhapatnam will serve as the administrative capital, Amaravati as the legislative seat and Kurnool will serve as the judicial capital.
However, former CM and Telegu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, Amaravati holds out to the promise of becoming Andhra Pradesh's capital. The TDP Chief has promised that if he was to return to power, Amaravati would be developed as the 'people's capital', which will also reflect the "past glory of Andhra" and transform Visakhapatnam into the financial capital of the state.
With the need of a new capital now, all eyes are on the results for the assembly elections. Andhra Pradesh went to polls on May 13 to vote for the next legislative assembly across all 175 constituencies.
As per the various exit polls, the NDA alliance - BJP, TDP and the Jana Sena Party - are projected to win a majority in the state assembly elections, bringing an end to the term of Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP.
The results for the assembly elections are set to be declared on June 4 by the Election Commission of India and the fate of the new capital will also depend on whoever emerges victorious in the state on Tuesday.
