Chennai, 15 Oct 2026: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay partici pated in Vijayawada Utsav 2.0 alongside Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandra babu Naidu on Tuesday night, drawing loud cheers from the gathering as he briefly addressed the audience in Telugu and extended Navaratri greetings.
The annual cultural festival, held at Punnami Ghat on the banks of the Krishna River in Vijayawada, featured traditional dance performances and cultural p rog rammes showcasing the region's heritage. Vijay and Naidu watched the perfor mances together.
Addressing the gathering, Vijay expressed happiness over his visit to Vijaya wada and thanked the people for their warm reception. “I am very happy to meet all of you. I consider it a privilege to participate in these Navaratri celebrations,” he said.
Vijay, who travelled to Vijayawada to hold discussions with Naidu on Krishna water supply to Chennai and interstate river-linking proposals, said the visit also provided an oppor tunity to participate in the celebrations.
“I have come to Vijayawada to discuss the interlinking of rivers with CM Chandrababu. It brings me great joy to see you all,” he said, extending Navaratri greetings to the people of Andhra Pradesh. Earlier in the day, Vijay offered prayers at the Kanaka Durga Temple after arriving from Chennai.
Welcoming the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Naidu said Vijayawada was filled with festive enthu siasm and described Vijay's participation as a special occasion.
“This is Tamil Nadu CM Vijay Thalapathy's first visit to Vijaya wada since assuming office. It was Goddess Durga herself who brought him here,” Naidu said. He praised Vijay's political journey, pointing out that he became Chief Minister within two years of launching his political party, and said both states shared a common goal of deve lopment.
“Although our states are different, our objective is the same: the nation must prosper, and States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka must all develop,” Naidu said. Referring to the discus sions on water-sharing and river interlinking, Naidu expressed confidence that linking the Godavari, Krishna, Penna and Cauvery rivers would benefit four southern states.
He also spoke about the role of young people in India's deve lopment and expressed confi dence that the country would achieve greater economic progress by 2047.
Vijayawada Utsav 2.0, organised on the initiative of Vijaya wada MP Kesineni Sivanath, aims to promote the city's culture, traditions, hospitality and spiritual heritage at the national level.