`Tughlaq’ is a label that has been thrown at Jaganmohan Reddy ever since he decided to move the administrative capital of Andhra Pradesh from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam and introduced a concept novel to India – a state with three capitals. Chandrababu Naidu was among those who used the term to deride Jagan and that has for obvious reasons, irked the YSR Congress.

Finance minister B Rajendranath decided to look at the entire Tughlaq reference from a different angle. Delving into the history of one of the most famous Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, Rajendranath pointed out that the decision in 1327 to move the capital of the Tughlaq dynasty from Delhi to Daulatabad (modern-day Aurangabad in Maharashtra) was taken by Mohammed-bin-Tughlaq to ensure the capital was at a central location and not too close to be attacked by foreign invaders from the north. But in 1335 after undertaking a massive shift over 1200 km and a host of problems, Tughlaq moved back to Delhi.  

Rajendranath argued that Naidu too is obsessed with a central location for the capital which is why he chose Amaravati and therefore asked, who is Tughlaq – Naidu or Jagan? 

Referring to state capitals like Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Rajendranath pointed out that none of them were centrally located. Moreover, Vizag is seen as better connected by flights to cities around the country and is seen as having the potential to emerge as the Mumbai of the East coast. Sources close to Jagan told Filter Kaapi that the aim is to ensure Vizag is able to compete effectively with Hyderabad within the next decade.