'Battle Of The Bros' On X As Congress, JDS Clash Over Bengaluru Potholes

A Congress versus Janata Dal Secular 'bro battle' broke on X Thursday after the latter tried to roast Karnataka's ruling party. The fuel was Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh's post this morning - a 'spicy' jab at the Congress in a rapidly escalating tiff over infrastructure and investment in Bengaluru.

JDS youth wing chief Nikhil Kumaraswamy - son of party boss and ex-Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy - set the ball rolling with a follow-up to Lokesh's post. "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!" And then the first 'bro'.

'2028 our reboot year', JDS crows

"... bro, under NDA (Andhra's TDP is part of the BJP-led alliance), you've shown how leadership can reboot a state. We'll do the same in Karnataka, 2028 will be our reboot year!"

The response was immediate and stuffed with facts to 'educate you, bro'.

"Karnataka is India's investment magnet. Rs 54,427 crore (US$ 6.57 billion) FDI, or foreign direct investment, in FY23-24. From semiconductors to EVs, from startups to smart infra, we're cooking with real billions..." the Congress' Karnataka unit bragged.

“No jobs, no funds” in Karnataka? 😂
Sit down, bro. We're here to educate you, with facts, not feelings.

Karnataka is India's investment magnet.
₹54,427 crore ($6.57B) FDI in FY23–24.
From semiconductors to EVs, from startups to smart infra, we're cooking with real billions.… https://t.co/yZYE1s4t85

— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) October 16, 2025

The party offered a lengthy list of statistics to back its claim, including examples of global manufacturing powerhouses operating in the state.

These included a US$400 million R&D hub by AMD, a US-based tech firm that designs and develops computer chips and graphics cards, and a billion-dollar investment by Foxconn, the world's largest contract mobile manufacturer.

"So, the only unemployment crisis here, bro, seems to be yours," it shot back, taunting the young Kumaraswamy over his 0/3 election record. "After three failed launches, you finally got a 'job' in your family business, which by the way, economists call 'disguised unemployment'."

The Congress suggested Kumaraswamy Jr instead talk to his father - who allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party before the 2023 state election - about investments 'diverted to Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh because of the centre's manipulative interference'.

'Please don't 'bro' us, pleads Congress

Did the entertaining back-and-forth settle down after that exchange? No.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy was far from out of 'bro' jibes, responding with a taunt combining criticism of Bengaluru's much-maligned roads and another throwing back the 'failure to launch' jibe.

Please don't “Bro” us, it was funny when we did it, but horrifying to have you say that to us because the distinction of being your “Bro” remains with some of the most infamous people this state has seen.

Anyway, moving past your wannabe language usage, do come back to us when… https://t.co/37X1Bhbld7

— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) October 16, 2025

"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."

"(And) if 'launch failures' were an Olympic sport, your 'supreme' (a reference to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi) would have won gold, 47 times! He's the only leader who's been 'launched' more times than Bengaluru's startups, except none of his launches ever take off!"

The Congress wasn't done, except it was, at least with the 'bro' tag. "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," the party said.

The last laugh (at least for now) was with Kumaraswamy.

"Keep the 'bro' drama to yourselves, we're not auditioning..." he signed off, "If asking for roads and results makes you this insecure, maybe it's not the word 'bro' that hurts... it is the truth."

Keep the “bro” drama to yourselves, we're not auditioning.
Instead of dragging names, try dragging some asphalt over those potholes.
If asking for roads and results makes you this insecure, maybe it's not the word “bro” that hurts, it's the truth. 🌶️

Criticising Congress isn't… https://t.co/nvyzP4mznM

— Nikhil Kumar (@Nikhil_Kumar_k) October 16, 2025

And he threw in a red chilli emoji to tie it all back to Nara Lokesh and his 'spicy food' jab.

"They say Andhra food is spicy. Seems some of our investments are too. Some neighbours are already feeling the burn..." the Telugu Desam Party leader said this morning.

That was in response to caustic comments by Karnataka ministers over internet behemoth Google choosing Andhra Pradesh over their state to invest US$15 billion in a data and AI hub.

READ | After $15 Billion Google 'Win', Nara Lokesh 'Burns' Karnataka In Potholes Row

Apart from Google, the states have also sparred over a tweet by Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw; she said on X a Chinese colleague asked her "why are the roads (in Bengaluru) so bad... why is there so much garbage... Doesn't the government want to support investment?"

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