HYDERABAD: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are not known for their neighbourly goodwill. Now, their ferocious rivalry has migrated from South India to the United States. The sons of the Chief Ministers of the adjoining states are both in America to seek foreign investment.
First off the mark to the US was Nara Lokesh Naidu, whose father Chandrababu heads the Andhra Pradesh government. Over 10 days, the junior Naidu is visiting Indian-origin and NRI entrepreneurs to raise investment of upto Rs. 1,200 crores. In San Francisco, he will appeal to NRIs to adopt the villages they belong to.
It’s not clear why Nara Lokesh, who holds no government position, is officially marketing the state abroad.
His pitch will be up against that of KT Rama Rao (“KTR”), son of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, whose American tour begins today. KTR is the Technology Minister of India’s youngest state, and hopes to draw cash to the IT hub of Hyderabad. Sources say KTR, 38, will target IT, Aerospace and Electronics firms in meetings in cities like New York and Dallas.
Both Nara Lokesh and KTR have MBA degrees from the United States and will try to sell “Brand Andhra Pradesh” and “Brand Telangana”. There’s also a scrimmage of sort for brownie points. Bristling sources in Telangana say Nara Lokesh’s claims of a meeting with President Obama conceal the reality that the interaction will take place at a fund-raising dinner where any donor is welcome. Nara Lokesh’s ticket is reportedly being funded by a group of NRIs from his state.
Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh as India’s 29th state in June last year. Hyderabad, with its booming economy and Software Central status, will be a shared capital for 10 years, after which it will belong to Telangana. The new Andhra Pradesh capital, Amravati, will be developed between the areas of Vijayawada and Guntur.
