Published Feb 27, 2026 | 1:30 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 27, 2026 | 1:37 PM
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Synopsis: The latest embarrassment for the Naidu government was its “grand welcome” accorded to Bill Gates when he landed in the state. According to sources, the political advice given to Naidu was to keep it a low-key affair even if Gates were to visit. Overenthusiastic officials, however, turned it into a big show.
A series of unsavoury episodes and gaffes in recent months suggest that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s long-held belief (or misbelief) that bureaucrats are his best advisers is under a cloud again.
He suffered on account of this approach in his first two terms as chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh between 1995 and 2004, and again as chief minister of the truncated state from 2014 to 2019, yet does not seem to have grasped the perils of blindly “listening” to officers.
First came the embarrassment surrounding the choice suggested to him for the post of Executive Officer (EO) of the famed Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
Senior IAS officer AK Singhal, who served in that position during the previous YSRCP government, was brought back as the EO in September 2025.
But the government had to beat a hasty retreat, as investigations revealed that the alleged adulteration of ghee used in the preparation of laddu prasadam during the previous regime happened when Singhal was serving his first stint in the position.
With Naidu himself leading the attack against YSRCP on the laddu issue, he was left with no option but to replace Singhal in early February, just five months after his appointment.
A senior officer in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Ravichandra, has been given additional charge of TTD and is expected to be confirmed in the post soon.
The officer is said to be keen to “serve” the Lord.
How officials in the CMO recommended Singhal’s name to head the TTD when the laddu issue had already drawn national attention by then is a baffling mystery.
The latest, and more embarrassing, episode was the “grand welcome” Naidu and his government accorded to Bill Gates when he landed in the state.
According to sources, the political advice given to Naidu was to keep it a low-key affair even if Gates was to visit. Overenthusiastic officials, however, turned it into a big show, putting out pictures and videos on social media.
The result was swift backlash from various sections over how Naidu could accord such a reception to Gates when he was facing condemnation worldwide over alleged sexual escapades that tumbled out of the Epstein files.
From Amaravati, Gates travelled to Mumbai and met several politicians, but all of them ensured there was no media coverage.
The Central government itself prevailed upon Gates not to deliver the scheduled keynote address at the AI summit held in Delhi recently.
Making matters worse, Gates has now admitted to extramarital affairs and apologised to members of his Foundation. So much for Naidu and his team gloating over the visit of someone linked to a convicted paedophile.
Sources said Naidu is also being ill-advised by the coterie of officers surrounding him on the proposed Quantum Valley in Amaravati. He has been harping on about it without perhaps realising the scale of operations needed to establish such a hub.
It is not as simple as bringing Microsoft to Hyderabad or TCS to Visakhapatnam.
Forget consulting experts. A simple query online will highlight the challenges involved: an extremely difficult project involving high stakes, massive infrastructure, and specialised talent.
When he boasts of making it a reality by 2029, what Naidu appears to ignore is that it requires $1 billion in investment, annual maintenance of $10 million, and highly skilled manpower that is simply not available at this point.
In any case, commercial fault-tolerant quantum computers required for such a valley are not expected to be in place before 2035.
Whether any of Naidu’s bureaucrats understand what they are setting in motion while guiding their political boss is doubtful. But the one who will pay the price for speaking a language his voters do not understand and taking decisions that do not go down well with people is Naidu himself.
There is now buzz that a wholesale reshuffle of the CMO is on the cards.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
