Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Pawan Kalyan — officially second in the pecking order and unofficially the state’s resident action hero — was conspicuous by his absence when “the world walked into Visakhapatnam” on 14 and 15 November to hear Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu pitching Andhra Pradesh as the next big investment hotspot.

The mega event, CII Partnership Summit, took off with all the fanfare one could pack into two days. The who’s who of the Telugu states mingled with Union ministers as Naidu rolled out the red carpet, determined to transform Andhra Pradesh into a land of milk and honey.

By the time the curtain dropped on the investment jamboree, the chief minister happily counted his coins, announcing that he had netted a handsome ₹13 lakh crore worth of commitments.

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