Chandrababu 2.0: A Damp Squib at Davos, Fails Miserably to Attract Investments to AP
24 Jan, 2025 15:10 IST|Sandeep Athreya
Chandrababu Naidu-led Andhra Pradesh Falls Short at WEF 2025, Davos
Telangana Performs Better at Davos with Mega Investment Deals
Andhra Pradesh delegation, led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, failed to secure any concrete investment agreements during the summit. While Naidu’s team emphasized promoting the state’s brand image and exploring strategic partnerships, there were no announcements of major investment deals or MoUs signed.
During the summit, Naidu engaged with global industry leaders and tried to attract investments for the state. However, brand Chandrababu took a severe beating since his arrest and corruption charges. Naidu failed to impose faith among the business community. On one side, Pawan Kalyan's dominance and Nara Lokesh's elevation as part of Naidu's succession plans are creating a lot of political ambiguity, thus leaving top MNCs to stay away from Andhra Pradesh.
Chandrababu and Co arrived empty-handed. This outcome has sparked surprise and shock for TDP leaders, as Naidu often positions himself as CEO and makes tall claims as the Messiah for fostering industrial growth and attracting IT investments.
In contrast, the Telangana government, led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, has announced a major win at the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, Switzerland, securing investment commitments worth ₹1,78,950 crore. These projects are projected to generate 49,550 jobs across various sectors, marking a significant milestone in the state’s industrial growth story.
Returning to Hyderabad early Friday morning, Revanth Reddy was seen beaming with pride. His office attributed this success to the tremendous response from global industrial leaders, who showed keen interest in Telangana’s business-friendly ecosystem.
The lion’s share of investments includes ₹60,000 crore from Amazon, ₹45,000 crore from Sun Petrochemicals, and ₹15,000 crore each from Tillman Global Holdings and Megha Engineering, among others. Leading software giants HCL, Infosys, and Wipro have also pledged to expand their operations in Hyderabad, promising thousands of high-skilled job opportunities. The state also attracted a significant defense sector investment from Jindal, further diversifying its industrial base.
With this setback, TDP leaders caught off-guard. For now, however, Telangana has emerged as the clear winner from the Davos summit, while Andhra Pradesh faces questions about its strategy and outcomes. On the whole, Naidu's visit to Davos turns out to be a damp squib.
