In the annals of Indian politics, Chandrababu Naidu has emerged as the undisputed brand ambassador of credit theft. With a long political career spanning several decades, Naidu does not have even a single scheme he can proudly call his own creation, nor a single company he independently brought to the state, nor a single major project that he initiated and completed without riding on someone else’s groundwork. Yet, he and his son Nara Lokesh have turned the art of appropriation into a full-time political strategy. Every welfare scheme, every infrastructure project, and every industrial investment pioneered by the late YS Rajasekhar Reddy and his son, former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, is now being systematically renamed, repackaged, and falsely projected as the achievements of the current coalition government. While YS Jagan’s five-year tenure transformed Andhra Pradesh with game-changing industries, green energy hubs, ports, airports, and people-centric welfare programmes that continue to touch millions of lives, the father-son duo of Chandrababu and Lokesh are busy claiming all the credit after 16 to 22 months in power without delivering even one new industry. Their much-publicised trips to Davos and Singapore returned empty-handed, and industrialists are reportedly hesitant to invest due to the prevailing anarchic governance. This is the real face of “Credit Chori Politics” unfolding in Andhra Pradesh today.
Adani Data Center:
On 3 May 2023, then Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone in Visakhapatnam’s Madhurawada IT Hill-4 for the Vizag Tech Park Limited project of the Adani Group with an investment of Rs 21.44 crore. The project envisaged a 300 MW integrated data park spread across 190 acres. This was never merely a data centre; it was designed as a full-fledged development hub that would generate direct and indirect employment for 40,000 people. The project was planned to run entirely on renewable energy and included the laying of a submarine cable system from Singapore to dramatically improve internet connectivity and speed across the state. It was a genuine game-changer that the Jagan government brought to reality after signing the agreement and commencing work. Today, the same project is being deliberately renamed and projected as a “Google Data Centre” by Chandrababu Naidu and Nara Lokesh, who are claiming they brought this prestigious investment to Andhra Pradesh. They are even admitting in public that, because it is now being positioned as only a data centre, it will create jobs for merely around 200 people despite the massive incentives offered, thereby undermining the original employment potential envisioned under Jagan’s leadership.
Bhogapuram International Airport
On the very same day, 3 May 2023, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy performed the Bhoomi Pooja and groundbreaking ceremony for the Bhogapuram International Airport. The Jagan government secured all necessary clearances, overcame every obstacle, and completed the acquisition of 2,751 acres of land in a smooth and transparent manner. Farmers who approached the courts were given double the compensation, and their genuine demands were fully addressed. A modern township with state-of-the-art facilities was constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 80 crore exclusively for the 376 displaced families who lost their homes; each family was provided 5 cents of land along with Rs 8.70 lakh as rehabilitation compensation. An additional Rs 18 crore was paid directly as compensation to the affected farmers. The airport is being developed by GMR at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 5,000 crore, with the target of completing the first phase by 2025 to handle 60 lakh passengers annually. A strong 3.8-kilometre runway capable of accommodating large aircraft was planned, and perimeter wall construction advanced rapidly. Even the crucial six-lane road connecting Bhogapuram with Visakhapatnam was initiated during YS Jagan’s tenure. Yet the coalition government is now trying to take full credit for a project whose foundation, land acquisition, rehabilitation, and early construction were all completed under Jagan’s leadership.
Ports, Fishing Harbours and Green Energy Projects
The Ramayapatnam Port was largely completed during the YSRCP government’s tenure. Works at Machilipatnam and Mulapeta ports progressed at full speed, while another private port in Kakinada is also nearing completion. Additionally, 11 new fishing harbours were developed across the state under YS Jagan’s watch. In the green energy sector, the pumped storage project at Pinnapuram in Kurnool district had its works formally started and significantly advanced during the YSRCP regime, along with several other renewable energy initiatives. The NTPC project agreement was signed and land was allotted at Nakkapalli in Anakapalli district during Jagan’s tenure, reflecting his clear vision for new-age energy resources. Similarly, the BPCL project at Ramayapatnam was brought to the state because Jagan personally showed the required land parcels and ensured all clearances. Even the return of lands to farmers in the Kakinada SEZ — a continuation of the industrial legacy that saw over 100 Special Economic Zones established in the state during YSR’s time as Chief Minister — was agreed upon and executed by YS Jagan. All these achievements are now being falsely claimed by Chandrababu Naidu as his own.
Industrial Investments
YS Jagan inaugurated the ATC Tyres (Yokohama) plant in 2022 with a total investment commitment of Rs 3,079 crore. The proposal was actually approved in the SIPB meeting chaired by Jagan himself in November 2020; works commenced in February 2021, and the first phase with an investment of Rs 1,750 crore began production in August 2022, with the second phase also announced at the same time. Likewise, Daikin set up its largest air-conditioner manufacturing unit in South India at Sri City under the PLI scheme. Construction began in 2022 on 75 acres with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, production started in November 2023, and the company purchased an additional 33 acres in 2024 for further expansion. The DRDO-BEL defence electronics unit at Palasamudram in Sri Sathya Sai district was proposed and approved in November 2022 when Defence Secretary Giridhar met Chief Minister YS Jagan. Expansion approvals for already existing units such as Deccan Fine Chemicals at Kesavaram, Mohan Spintex at Vattigudipadu (established in 2007 during YSR’s time), and Ramabhadra Industries at Tanuku (set up in 2006) have also been wrongly projected as new achievements. Even Ashok Leyland, which began commercial production in 2021 during the YSRCP regime and officially informed the stock exchange on 19 February 2021, was ceremonially “re-inaugurated” by Nara Lokesh in June 2025 to steal credit.
Welfare Schemes
Chandrababu Naidu has gone to the extent of simply changing the names of YS Jagan’s flagship schemes and institutions to claim them as his own. Gram and Ward Sachivalayams have been renamed “Vision Units,” Rythu Bharosa Kendras have become “Rythu Seva Kendras,” the Rythu Bharosa scheme is now called “Annadata Sukhibhava,” Jagananna Colonies have been rebranded as “NTR Nagars,” Amma Odi is now “Thalliki Vandanam,” Gorumudda has become “Mid-Day Meal,” Vidya Kanuka is “Vidya Mitra,” Nadu-Nedu has turned into “Mana Badi – Mana Bhavishyattu,” Matsyakara Bharosa is now “Matsyakara Sevalu,” and the Disha App has been renamed “Shakti App.” The most glaring example is the Amma Odi scheme. Seeing poor mothers forced to send their children to work instead of school, YS Jagan launched Amma Odi and deposited Rs 15,000 annually into the bank accounts of mothers of children studying from Class 1 to Intermediate. After coming to power, the coalition government merely renamed it “Thalliki Vandanam” and diluted its implementation, while Chandrababu Naidu has the audacity to tell schoolchildren that the scheme was Nara Lokesh’s brainchild.
InOrbit Mall, Bulk Drug Park and RDT – More Stolen Credits
During YS Jagan’s tenure, the foundation stone was laid for what was set to become one of the largest malls in the country in Visakhapatnam. Thanks to his vision and proactive steps, nearly 90 per cent of the work was already completed by the time of the elections. The mall was recently inaugurated by Union Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu, yet coalition leaders are now trying to pocket the entire credit. Similarly, the Bulk Drug Park at Nakkapalli in Anakapalli district was taken forward by the Jagan government, which established the AP Bulk Drug Infrastructure Corporation in 2020. The Union government formally communicated approval and directed the setting up of Common Infrastructure Facilities through an official letter dated 7 November 2022. The first instalment of Rs 223 crore was released in March 2023 for the total project cost of Rs 1,876 crore. Despite these documented facts, the coalition is propagating it as a new achievement. The renewal of the FCRA licence for the Rural Development Trust (RDT) in Anantapur was secured only after sustained pressure and agitations by the YSRCP; now Nara Lokesh and coalition leaders are shamelessly claiming it as their credit.
Housing for the Poor
In 22 months of coalition rule, not a single square yard of land has been distributed to the poor, nor have permissions been granted for even ten meaningful house constructions. Yet Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is brazenly announcing that his government has constructed three lakh houses. In stark contrast, under the Navaratnalu – Pedalandariki Illu scheme, the YS Jagan government distributed 31.19 lakh house sites free of cost to women across 71.8 thousand acres of land. Entire new villages were developed in the form of Jagananna Colonies, with permissions granted for the construction of over 19 lakh houses. In addition, AP Town and Country Planning (APTIDCO) constructed another 2.62 lakh houses. By the time of the elections, more than nine lakh houses had already been built. The coalition government is now trying to steal credit for this massive housing revolution as well.
