Tadepalli, Nov 12: YSRCP president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has questioned the TDP-led coalition government’s claims of rapid economic growth, alleging that key economic indicators point towards stagnation, declining consumption and worsening employment conditions in the state.
In a statement shared on social media, Jagan argued that the government’s development narrative was contradicted by official figures relating to electricity demand, the state’s own tax revenues and unemployment. He accused Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of projecting an exaggerated picture of economic progress while the state’s economic fundamentals continued to weaken.
Citing data from Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) orders, Jagan pointed out that power sales by distribution companies (DISCOMs) declined from 71,722 million units (MU) in FY 2023-24 to 70,885 MU in FY 2025-26. Similarly, energy dispatch fell from 79,758 MU to 78,546 MU during the same period.
He argued that electricity consumption should normally increase in a growing economy due to the establishment of new industries, higher capacity utilisation by existing industries and increased household consumption resulting from improved purchasing power. The decline in both power sales and energy dispatch, he said, reflected economic sluggishness in Andhra Pradesh.
Jagan also questioned the state’s revenue performance, pointing to figures released by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). According to the figures cited by him, Andhra Pradesh’s own tax revenues increased marginally from Rs. 85,922.36 crore in FY 2023-24 to Rs.86,552.65 crore in FY 2025-26 (provisional).
He said the marginal increase translated into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just 0.15 per cent over the two-year period, which he cited as evidence of weak consumption and investment activity in the state.
The former Chief Minister further highlighted unemployment as another indicator of economic distress. Referring to unemployment rankings for the first two quarters of FY 2026-27, he claimed that Andhra Pradesh ranked fourth among states in the first quarter and third in the second quarter in terms of unemployment.
Questioning the coalition government’s employment claims, Jagan said the unemployment figures raised serious concerns about job creation in the state, despite Chandrababu Naidu’s repeated assertions that the government had generated 23 lakh jobs.
Jagan maintained that the figures relating to electricity consumption, tax collections and unemployment presented a contrasting picture to the coalition government’s claims of accelerated development. He called into question the credibility of the government’s economic growth narrative, arguing that official statistics should be the basis for assessing the state’s actual economic performance rather than publicity and announcements.
