A brewing political controversy in Tamil Nadu over Google opting for Andhra Pradesh for a landmark $15 billion investment in an AI and data hub escalated on October 21, 2025, with Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh injecting a nationalist jab into the fray. Lokesh, a leader of the BJP-allied Telugu Desam Party (TDP), reposted an NDTV article detailing the opposition AIADMK's criticism of the ruling DMK government and captioned it with three words: "He chose Bharat," accompanied by an Indian flag emoji.
The pointed remark alluded to Google CEO Sundar Pichai's Tamil roots—he was born in Madurai—yet the tech giant's decision was to establish its largest non-U.S. AI facility in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, rather than his home state. Announced on October 14 during a high-profile event in New Delhi attended by Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Nirmala Sitharaman, alongside Andhra Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Lokesh, the project promises a 1-gigawatt data centre poised to create up to 188,000 jobs and bolster India's AI ecosystem amid global tech shifts.
The investment, Google's biggest in India to date and spanning five years from 2026 to 2030, underscores Andhra Pradesh's aggressive push for tech dominance under Naidu's administration, which has dangled incentives like subsidised land, power, and GST reimbursements worth billions. This contrasts sharply with Tamil Nadu's overtures, where AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami—himself a BJP ally—lambasted Chief Minister M.K. Stalin earlier that day for squandering a "historic opportunity" tied to Pichai's cultural affinity.
Senior AIADMK leader R.B. Udhayakumar echoed the sentiment, decrying the DMK's "lack of proactive engagement and vision" that allegedly cost the state thousands of high-tech jobs and revenue streams. Palaniswami highlighted Tamil Nadu's longstanding IT prowess, home to Chennai's electronics manufacturing clusters and Foxconn's iPhone assembly lines, yet argued the government failed to leverage Pichai's heritage for economic gain. The barbs reflect intensifying interstate rivalries, as southern states vie for foreign direct investment amid India's $10 billion data centre market boom, projected to quadruple by 2029 through initiatives like the India AI Mission.
DMK Industries Minister T.R.B. Raaja swiftly countered, touting Tamil Nadu's superior haul: a Rs 15,000 crore ($1.8 billion) commitment from Foxconn for expanded operations, dwarfing the Google project in immediacy and scale. Raaja dismissed the AIADMK's rhetoric as sour grapes, emphasising the state's Rs 6.64 lakh crore in investments since 2021—outpacing Andhra's commitments—and its ranking as India's second-largest FDI recipient. Lokesh's viral post, amassing over 50,000 likes within hours, fits his pattern of pithy social media volleys; last week, he quipped that "some neighbours are feeling the burn" after Andhra lured investments from Karnataka, prompting a retort from IT Minister Priyank Kharge on subsidies masking fiscal woes.
Such exchanges highlight a broader narrative of competitive federalism under the NDA coalition, where TDP's support bolsters the BJP nationally while amplifying Andhra's ambitions. Analysts note Lokesh's "Bharat" framing subtly aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unification rhetoric, positioning the project as a pan-Indian win over regional parochialism.
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As the spat unfolds on platforms like X—formerly Twitter—it risks overshadowing the investment's transformative potential: enhancing cloud infrastructure, subsea cable gateways, and sustainable energy ties with Adani Group for grid resilience. For Tamil Nadu, the episode reignites debates on policy agility, with opposition demands for a white paper on lost opportunities.
Andhra, meanwhile, celebrates "VizaG"—Naidu's rebranded moniker for Visakhapatnam—as a tech beacon, projecting Rs 40 lakh crore in cumulative investments by 2047. Lokesh's intervention not only amplifies TDP's role in national tech diplomacy but also underscores how personal narratives, like Pichai's, intersect with statecraft in India's digital race. With elections looming in 2026, these volleys may foreshadow sharper electoral contests, where economic nationalism trumps regional loyalties.
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