‘Andhra is cooking up investments, Karnataka cooking excuses’: JDS youth chief targets Cong on Bengaluru’s infrastructure

A heated social media clash unfolded on X on Thursday between Karnataka’s Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), turning into a full-blown “bro battle” over infrastructure, investments, and political credibility. The confrontation began after Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh highlighted Google’s decision to invest in Andhra Pradesh instead of Bengaluru, describing Andhra as “cooking up investments” while Karnataka lagged behind.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, JDS youth wing chief and son of former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, jumped into the fray, using sharp humour and political critique. He contrasted Andhra’s booming investment climate with Bengaluru’s struggling infrastructure: “Andhra is cooking up investments, Karnataka’s are busy cooking excuses. Andhra is attracting Google, Karnataka’s ministers are threatening people who use it. No roads, no funds, no jobs… just reels, real estate, and rhetoric!”

He also issued a warning for Karnataka’s ruling party, promising a comeback: “… bro, under NDA, you’ve shown how leadership can reboot a state. We’ll do the same in Karnataka, 2028 will be our reboot year!”

The Congress quickly responded, defending the state’s record on foreign direct investment. According to the party, Karnataka attracted ₹54,427 crore (US$6.57 billion) in FDI during FY23-24, covering sectors from semiconductors to EVs and smart infrastructure. They highlighted major projects such as AMD’s US$400 million R&D hub and Foxconn’s billion-dollar investment, while taking aim at Kumaraswamy Jr’s political track record.

“So, the only unemployment crisis here, bro, seems to be yours. After three failed launches, you finally got a ‘job’ in your family business, which economists call ‘disguised unemployment.’”

Nikhil continued the banter, pointing to Bengaluru’s traffic and startup exodus. He used humour to turn the tables on Congress: “Looks like bro got stuck in an ORR traffic jam and rage-tweeted this… Love the stats dump! But tell that to Bengalureans stuck in traffic, dodging potholes, and watching startups shift out.”

“If ‘launch failures’ were an Olympic sport, your ‘supreme’ would have won gold, 47 times! He’s the only leader who’s been ‘launched’ more than Bengaluru’s startups — except none of his launches ever take off!”

Congress tried to end the “bro” tag exchange, saying it had gone too far: “Please don’t ‘bro’ us… it was funny when we did it but horrifying to have you say that to us. The distinction of being your ‘bro’ remains with some of the most infamous people this state has seen.”

But Nikhil had the final word, tying back to Lokesh’s “spicy” jab: “Keep the ‘bro’ drama to yourselves, we’re not auditioning. If asking for roads and results makes you this insecure, maybe it’s not the word ‘bro’ that hurts… it is the truth. They say Andhra food is spicy. Seems some of our investments are too. Some neighbours are already feeling the burn…”