Bengaluru: Andhra Pradesh IT minister Nara Lokesh’s enthusiasm in luring Bengaluru-based companies to the state on the promise of better infrastructure and policies has triggered off a heated exchange with his counterpart in Karnataka, Priyank Kharge.
On Thursday, Lokesh responded to a news post on social media about several companies relocating from the Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru to the city’s north.
“North sounds good. Slightly more north is Anantapur… where we are building a world class aerospace and defence ecosystem!” he posted on X.
The response from Kharge was quick and fell short of calling Andhra Pradesh a “parasite”.
“It is natural for weaker ecosystems to feed off stronger ones. Nothing wrong with that, but when it turns into desperate scavenging, it shows more weakness than strength,” Kharge wrote.
He then went on to point out several things about Bengaluru, including its contribution to the national GDP, its thriving property market and other attributes. He ended by asking cheekily: “What is an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other’s expense called?”
It is natural for weaker ecosystems to feed off stronger ones. Nothing wrong with that, but when it turns into desperate scavenging, it shows more weakness than strength.
– Bengaluru’s GDP is projected to grow at a significant 8.5% until 2035, positioning it as the world's… https://t.co/E2tRggt8UW
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) October 2, 2025
Lokesh hit back at Kharge late Thursday.
“As India’s youngest state, we are looking for every opportunity to grow and generate jobs. I truly believe that as states compete for investments and jobs, India will prosper…,” he posted.
But he wasn’t done and took another dig at Kharge and Bengaluru. “My humble suggestion – Arrogance, like potholes on roads, should be fixed first before the journey gets tripped up!”
As India’s youngest state, we are looking for every opportunity to grow and generate jobs. I truly believe that as states compete for investments and jobs, India will prosper.
My humble suggestion – Arrogance, like potholes on roads, should be fixed first before the journey… https://t.co/niVlB5ke7Z
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) October 2, 2025
This was just the latest caustic exchange between the two ministers, who have traded barbs in the past as well, with Lokesh not wasting any opportunity to cash in on Bengaluru-based companies airing their infrastructure-related grievances online.
In his attempts to swoop in on businesses from Karnataka, Lokesh has styled his strategy around that of former Telangana IT minister K.T. Rama Rao.
Since Andhra’s ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) joined the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, Lokesh has attempted to tap into any opportunity that presents itself from across the state border. Most of his attention has been on Congress-ruled Karnataka where inadequate and crumbling infrastructure, frequent flooding and traffic have overshadowed the city’s better-known attributes.
According to people aware of Lokesh’s functioning, the young IT minister’s team scouts for opportunities online.
In June, when a Mysuru-based rum distiller highlighted the difficulties of doing business in Karnataka, Lokesh’s team was quick to seek him out.
Aruna Urs, co-founder of Mysuru-based craft rum distiller Huli, received a call from a friend delivering an unusual message on behalf of Lokesh. The minister’s team extended an offer of a “tailor-made excise policy” and red carpet welcome if he would relocate his craft rum micro-distillery to the neighbouring state, ThePrint had reported.
Be it the agitation against infrastructure in Bengaluru’s Devanahalli or the BlackBuck chief executive complaining about poor infrastructure on Outer Ring Road, Lokesh has made it a point to highlight better services and facilities in his state.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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The state of potholes in Bengaluru is horrendous ! Even the fiercest supporters of the current Congress dispensation cannot look themselves in the mirror and put a positive spin to it ! Hoping recent deaths of motorists due to pothole menace opens the eyes of the public to the struggles they are being made to go through after they were dangled the carrot of freebies 2 years back !