Vijayawada: The TDP-led NDA government’s plan to build new medical colleges under the public-private partnership (PPP) model snowballed into a political flashpoint with the YSRCP launching a statewide agitation and Chandrababu Naidu government’s determination to defend its fiscal rationale. The confrontation now threatens to go onto the streets, as both sides sharpen their rhetoric and schedule overlapping visits to the same college site.

YSRCP chief and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is set to visit the medical college in Anakapalli district on October 9, positioning the tour as part of his campaign against what he calls ‘privatisation of medical education’.

In a counter move, Medical and Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav announced that he too would visit the same campus at the same time, a decision that underlines how the issue has morphed into a political battle rather than an administrative disagreement.

“Jagan is trying to convince people by telling lies. The people have already taught him a lesson,” Satya Kumar Yadav said, accusing the Opposition leader of spreading misinformation about the PPP model. “He should introspect and act like a responsible Opposition leader.”

At the heart of the confrontation lies a fundamental clash over how the state should fund and operate higher education. Seventeen new medical colleges were sanctioned to Andhra Pradesh in 2020–21 at a cost of Rs 8,486 crore.

The Chandrababu Naidu government argues that the previous YSRCP regime released barely 18.2 per cent (Rs 1,566.36 crore) of that amount, leaving several projects incomplete. Chief Minister Naidu told the Assembly that the PPP model would save Rs 3,700 crore compared to the old structure, a figure his government uses to justify private participation. The YSRCP, however, insists that the model undermines the very principles of social justice and constitutional reservations for SC, ST, BC, and EWS students. “Government colleges are vital to produce doctors for rural and underserved areas. The PPP model risks turning medical education into a privilege of the rich. Health sector is not a business to hand over to private managements, it’s a service sector,” said Dr Ambati Naga Radhakrishna Yadav, chairman of the YSRCP doctors’ wing, after he met Governor Abdul S Nazeer to register the party’s objections.

Jagan’s team has planned a mass signature drive targeting one crore people, along with constituency-level protests from October 10 to 22, dharnas on November 12, rallies on November 28. Jagan is expected to make the agitation a rallying point to rebuild political momentum after the YSRCP’s electoral defeat earlier this year.

For the Naidu government, the issue has become a test of its resolve to attract private investment while fending off charges of favouring corporate control in public services. Officials claim the PPP structure will retain government ownership and ensure affordable education, but Opposition leaders say the framework effectively transfers operational control to private hands for decades.

Meanwhile, the Anakapalle district police have denied permission for Jagan to travel by road along the 63-km Visakhapatnam–Makavarapalem National Highway, citing traffic and public inconvenience. Officials said a helipad has been arranged at the medical college and permission has been granted for the former Chief Minister to arrive by helicopter.