The Andhra Pradesh government organized the Amaravati re-launch event on Friday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone, treating it as a prestigious occasion and inviting several dignitaries — including former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and megastar Chiranjeevi.
As expected, Jagan skipped the event due to political reasons, and his absence raised little concern. However, it was Chiranjeevi's absence that became the topic of discussion.
The state government had invited Chiranjeevi as a special guest, and many believed he would attend given his recent cordial interactions with Prime Minister Modi.
In fact, reports suggested that the Prime Minister’s Office had specifically asked the state government to include Chiranjeevi’s name among the dignitaries on the dais.
During the swearing-in ceremony of Naidu and Pawan Kalyan, Modi had greeted Chiranjeevi with respect.
The megastar had also shared the stage with Modi at several events in Delhi, fueling speculation about growing proximity to the BJP.
Even during Jagan’s tenure, Chiranjeevi had been invited to the Alluri Sitarama Raju centenary celebrations, where Modi was present and Chiranjeevi received special recognition.
Recently, Chiranjeevi has publicly praised Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and extended his support to his younger brother Pawan Kalyan, the current Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Despite all these connections, Chiranjeevi did not attend the Amaravati event. His absence, coupled with his silence on social media, has sparked speculation.
Sources say Chiranjeevi was in Mumbai attending the WAVES conference, which was also inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi. It remains unclear whether he met the Prime Minister there.
However, another source claimed that Chiranjeevi might have chosen to skip the Amaravati event out of embarrassment, due to his past support for YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy’s three-capital proposal for Andhra Pradesh in 2019.
In December 2019, Chiranjeevi had endorsed the idea of decentralized governance. He stated that the Sivaramakrishnan, Sri Krishna, and G N Rao Committees had all recommended balanced regional development through decentralization.
“It’s time we welcome the establishment of an executive capital in Visakhapatnam, a legislative capital in Amaravati, and a judicial capital in Kurnool,” Chiranjeevi had said at the time.
He added that after 1956, development had been overly concentrated in one region, causing regional imbalances.
“After the 2014 bifurcation, the people were left without a capital. Repeating the mistake of focusing solely on Amaravati would be unjust to future generations,” he had warned.
Given his earlier stance against Amaravati, Chiranjeevi may have chosen to stay away from Friday’s event to avoid backlash for contradicting his previous position.
