New Delhi, April 1 A bill seeking to recognize Amaravati as the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, an initiative that will fulfill a vital aspiration of key NDA ally TDP and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The legislation will effectively prevent any future attempts to reverse the decision to make Amaravati the sole and permanent capital, as was done by the state's previous government, led by YSR Congress president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai moved the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha, and Speaker Om Birla put it to a vote, which was accepted through a voice vote.
On March 28, the state legislative assembly also passed a resolution requesting the Centre to amend Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act to include the name "Amaravati" as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.
As the first chief minister of the bifurcated Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2019, TDP supremo Naidu had announced that Amaravati would be the capital of the state and invested heavily in its development.
However, the TDP lost power in the 2019 assembly elections, and Reddy assumed the position of chief minister.
During his tenure, Reddy reversed Naidu's decision and announced that Andhra Pradesh would have three capitals – an administrative capital at Visakhapatnam, a legislative capital at Amaravati, and a judicial capital at Kurnool – instead of a single capital city at Amaravati.
After Naidu returned to power in 2024, he announced that Amaravati would be the sole capital of the state.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, under which Telangana was created, recognizes Hyderabad as the capital of the new state, but there was no mention of where the capital of Andhra Pradesh would be located.
The proposed Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2026 by the NDA government would solidify Amaravati's status as the sole capital.
The TDP is a key ally of the ruling NDA and provides vital support to the Narendra Modi government with its 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
According to the Bill circulated among Lok Sabha members, the provisions of the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act provide that, from the appointed date, Hyderabad will be the common capital for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for a period not exceeding ten years.
After which, Hyderabad will be the capital of Telangana, and there will be a new capital for the successor state of Andhra Pradesh.
After the reorganisation law came into effect, the Andhra Pradesh government, "after due consideration, consultation, and planning, identified and notified 'Amaravati' as the new capital of that state," the bill noted.
Once the bill becomes an Act, Amaravati will be legally recognized as the capital of Andhra Pradesh, effective from June 2, 2024.
It stated that significant administrative and legislative measures have been undertaken, in addition to the infrastructural developments in and around Amaravati, with the objective of establishing it as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
It observed that on March 28, the state legislative assembly passed a resolution requesting the Centre to amend Section 5 of the Reorganisation Act to incorporate the name of "Amaravati" as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.
To give effect to the resolution of the state legislative assembly, and to provide "statutory clarity regarding the capital" of AP, the bill proposes to amend sub-section (2) of section 5 of the reorganisation law to include the name of "Amaravati" as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, effective from June 2, 2024.