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

A heated tussle erupted on social media on Thursday between the Karnataka congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), turning into an all-out “bro battle” over infrastructure, investments and political credibility. The standoff began after Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh highlighted Google’s decision to invest in Andhra Pradesh instead of Bengaluru, describing Andhra as “cooking investments” while Karnataka lags behind.

Nikhil Coomaraswamy, president of the youth wing of the JDS party and son of former chief minister H D Coomaraswamy, jumped into the fray using sharp humor and political criticism. He drew a comparison between Andhra’s booming investment climate and Bengaluru’s faltering infrastructure: “Andhra is lining up investments, and Karnataka is busy cooking up excuses. Andhra is attracting Google, and Karnataka ministers are threatening people who use it. There are no roads, no money, no jobs… just rollers, real estate and rhetoric!”

He also issued a warning to the ruling party in Karnataka, promising a comeback: “…Brother, under the NDA, you have shown how leadership can reboot the state. We will do the same in Karnataka, and 2028 will be our reboot year!”

Congress quickly responded, defending the state’s record on foreign direct investment. According to the party, Karnataka attracted Rs 54,427 crore (US$6.57 billion) of FDI during FY 23-24, covering sectors from semiconductors to electric vehicles and smart infrastructure. They highlighted major projects such as AMD’s $400 million R&D center and Foxconn’s $1 billion investment, while targeting Coomaraswamy Jr’s political record.

“So, it seems the only unemployment crisis here, bro, is your unemployment crisis. After three failed launches, you finally got a ‘job’ at your family’s company, which economists call ‘underemployment.’”

Nikhil continued his joke, referring to the traffic and exodus in Bengaluru. He used humor to turn the tables on Congress: “Apparently my brother got stuck in a traffic jam at ORR and angrily tweeted this… I love unpacking stats! But tell that to Bangaloreans stuck in traffic, dodging potholes, watching startups transform.”

“If ‘launch failures’ were an Olympic sport, your ‘top’ would have won the gold medal, 47 times! He’s the only leader to have ‘launched’ more startups in Bengaluru – except none of his launches ever!”

Congress tried to end the exchange of “bro” labels, saying it went too far: “Please don’t say ‘bro’… It was funny when we did that, but it’s terrifying for you to say that to us. The distinction between being ‘bro’ persists among some of the most famous people in this state.”

But Nikhil had the final say, referring to Lokesh’s “spicy” criticism: “Keep the ‘bro’ drama to yourselves, we’re not auditioning. If asking about methods and results makes you so insecure, maybe it’s not the word ‘bro’ that’s hurting you… it’s the truth. They say Andhra food is spicy. Apparently some of our investments are too. And some of the neighbors are already feeling the burn…”