A new episode in The battle of two states – Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh — to lure big investors and global firms began playing out sharply in the cyberspace.
Priyank Kharge and Nara Lokesh, scions of two powerful politicians from neighbouring South Indian states – Mallikarjun Kharge and N Chandrababu Naidu — are currently engaged in a fierce war of words, that flared up once again on social media platform X.
It all began with Andhra Pradesh IT minister Nara Lokesh aiming sharp barbs few weeks ago against Bengaluru’s potholes peppered roads, lanes and bylanes and ‘inviting’ firms located there to relocate to the ‘youngest’ state.
His “invite” did not go without counterattack, from both Kharge junior and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the minister in charge of Bengaluru affairs.
Battling a campaign of sorts against potholes, from representatives of Industry and also residents welfare associations across the city, the Karnataka government has begun addressing the problem, but filling up potholes is easier said than done.
Of course, this sparked off an intense, ongoing war of words between the Congress and the opposition BJP and its ecosystem pinning the government on the potholes issue. The Congress came out with detailed response with specific information as to which of the potholed areas were controlled by the BJP in civic bodies since over a decade and half to insinuate that the other was to blame for the mess – even as the locals continue vent their ire and woes on social media platforms.
The latest flareup between the two states was sparked by Nara Lokesh’s attempts to exploit Bengaluru’s woe’s with attempts to persuade IT companies and start-up firms to relocate to Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra Minister, who is also the son of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, has been suggesting to investors to move to Ananathapur, that is close to Bengaluru but located in Andhra Pradesh. No need for getting frustrated with Bengaluru’s potholes and traffic, Lokesh said needling Karnataka, which has been galloping ahead in terms of economic growth.
Hitting out against Lokesh, Priyank Kharge, who is Karnataka’s IT minister likened the Andhra Pradesh’s efforts to lure investments away from Karnataka as “Desperate scavenging of a weaker ecosystem.”
If Karnataka Deputy CM Shivakumar had dared companies that wanted to shift to leave, Priyank Kharge reiterated the growth that is already 8.5 percent, to continue for another ten years. The city is witnessing 5 percent property market rise this year alone, Kharge said quoting statistics from Savills Growth Hubs Index.
“Bengaluru is set to outpace global cities in urbanisation, economic growth, and innovation by 2033,” Kharge said to drill home the message that whoever associates with Bengaluru will grow with the city.
“The government is and will continue to build infrastructure for the rapid growth we are experiencing,” Kharge said.
Without calling Andhra Pradesh a parasite, Kharge left no one in doubt as to his clear intentions when he asked in a post on social media platform X,“What is an organism that lives on another species and benefits at the other’s expense called?”
Lokesh, countered this ‘abusive’ barb by reiterating that Andhra Pradesh was only seeing an opportunity and was not seeking rivalry. By investing in new sectors and building new growth hubs, Andhra is creating jobs for its youth while also helping reduce the burden on already over-stretched metros like Bengaluru.
It is in this connection, he spoke about Bengaluru’s potholes and gave a “humble suggestion” to Kharge. “My humble suggestion – Arrogance, like potholes on roads, should be fixed first before the journey gets tripped up,” he said in his post.
At the same time, Lokesh didn’t shy away from pointing out the reality on the ground in Bengaluru thousands of potholes waiting to be fixed. He called out Priyank Kharge’s arrogance and questioned his own record of governance before making dismissive comments about others.
The battle between the two states is only intensifying, also due to political reasons. While, Andhra Pradesh is led by a key component of the ruling NDA at the centre, Telugu Desam Party without whose support the central government would find it difficult to continue, it is the Congress that is ruling Karnataka.
Already, Karnataka cries of step motherly treatment by the centre when it comes to devolution of funds and allocations from the central government. With Chandrababu Naidu in a hurry to show results — to cement his position in the state and also to prove himself as a success as compared to his predecessor YS Jaganmohan Reddy, he is not losing any opportunity to bring investors and investments into the state.
