Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is using Vijayawada Utsav 2.0 to showcase the city's cultural and spiritual heritage while also creating a platform for engagement with political leaders from across India, as his government continues its push to realise the state's dream capital, Amaravati.
The 10-day festival, being held from October 11 to 20, features cultural performances, traditional arts, entertainment programmes and exhibitions.
Organised under the theme "One City-One Celebration," the event aims to strengthen Vijayawada's profile as a national tourism destination while generating economic opportunities for local artists, artisans, traders and businesses.
Vijayawada TDP MP Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni), who conceptualised the first edition of the festival in 2025, has played a key role in expanding its reach. Ahead of the celebrations, he stressed the importance of spiritual tourism, local talent and greater participation by visitors.
"We want to promote spiritual tourism in Vijayawada and ensure that the city's cultural significance reaches people across the country," Sivanath said.
He also appealed to local businesses to decorate their establishments, offer discounts and extend warm hospitality to visitors so that the Utsav could attract more footfall and emerge as an attraction on the lines of Karnataka's Mysore Dussehra.
Political Leaders At Vijayawada Utsav
The festival has also attracted prominent dignitaries. President Droupadi Murmu visited Vijayawada during the celebrations and attended the National SARAS Mela.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay joined Naidu at Vijayawada Utsav on October 13, bringing further national attention to the event.
The outreach has extended to other political leaders. Sivanath and state Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav invited Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to the celebrations.
Leaders from neighbouring states, including DK Shivakumar, Revanth Reddy and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Manjhi, were also invited to attend the event, highlighting how the Naidu government is using the gathering not just to promote tourism but also as a platform for inter-state engagement.
Naidu's meeting with Vijay also included discussions on water-related issues, including the proposed Godavari-Cauvery river-linking project and water supplies to Chennai.
"While the festival's primary public purpose is cultural promotion, its ability to bring leaders from different political backgrounds together also creates space for wider discussions on regional cooperation and development," said a government official part of the organising committee.
For Naidu, a four-time chief minister, Vijayawada Utsav has become an opportunity to bring together tourism promotion, cultural identity and political outreach in a single high-profile event.
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