Andhra Pradesh vs Karnataka: The Battle for Tech Investment Intensifies as Google Chooses Andhra

Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh (File)

New Delhi:

'Karnataka is feeling the burn!' - Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh's pointed statement on Thursday intensified the ongoing rivalry with neighboring Karnataka regarding road conditions and infrastructure in Bengaluru and their impact on businesses in India's 'Silicon Valley'.

"They say Andhra food is spicy. (It) seems some of our investments are too. Some neighbours are already feeling the burn," Lokesh remarked in a provocative post on X this morning.

Lokesh and senior Karnataka Congress leaders - Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and IT Minister Priyank Kharge - have been engaged in an online dispute since mid-September. The conflict began when Rajesh Yabaji, co-founder of a Bengaluru-based logistics company, voiced frustrations about extended commute times and deteriorating roads near his office of nine years in the Bellandur area.

The Telugu Desam Party leader quickly responded by promoting Vizag as an alternative location. As more Bengaluru businesses, executives, and residents complained about the city's infrastructure challenges, he increasingly positioned his state as a viable investment destination.

In a recent interview with NDTV, an unapologetic Lokesh revealed that Andhra had already secured over $120 billion in investment and acknowledged that their rapid reforms had created tensions with Karnataka. However, he maintained that concerned states must respond appropriately, stating, "That is their challenge..."

Karnataka officials have responded firmly; earlier this month Kharge criticized Andhra's investment attraction efforts as "desperate scavenging (of) a weaker ecosystem."

"You can't match Bengaluru infrastructure, startups, human resources, and innovations..." DKS told reporters, dismissing the attempts to attract investment. "Let them do whatever they want."

Google's decision to choose Andhra over Karnataka - committing $15 billion for a data and AI hub over the next five years - has intensified the rivalry, inspiring Lokesh's spicy remark.

Kharge alluded to incentives of Rs 22,000 crore in subsidies and additional benefits, including tax and utilities exemptions offered to the US technology giant. Lokesh responded concisely: "If they (the Karnataka government) are inefficient, what can I do? Their own industrialists say the infrastructure is bad... there are power cuts. They should first fix those problems."

Beyond Google, the states have also clashed over Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw's tweet where she shared that a Chinese colleague questioned, "why are the roads (in Bengaluru) so bad... why is there so much garbage... Doesn't the government want to support investment?"

Her social media post - alongside residents writing to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah threatening to withhold property tax payments unless the city addresses its 'killer potholes' and deteriorating infrastructure - has sparked fresh controversy.

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