'He chose Bharat': Nara Lokesh’s jibe fuels DMK-AIADMK row over Google’s Vizag AI hub

Lokesh’s post is his second public jab celebrating Andhra’s industrial win in recent weeks.

The political sparring between Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK over Google’s decision to set up a $15 billion artificial intelligence and data hub in Visakhapatnam instead of Tamil Nadu took a fresh turn on Tuesday with Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh joining the fray.

Lokesh, a cabinet minister in the N Chandrababu Naidu-led government, posted a screenshot of an NDTV report on the controversy with a terse three-word message on X, “He chose Bharat.”

He chose Bharat 🇮🇳 https://t.co/hASGC1Mz8Fpic.twitter.com/bcT72KeZRd

— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) October 21, 2025

The remark, seen as a dig at Tamil Nadu’s political class, quickly went viral.

The comment came hours after AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami slammed Chief Minister MK Stalin for “failing to attract” Google to Tamil Nadu, despite CEO Sundar Pichai’s “strong roots” in the state.

It should be mentioned here that Pichai was born in Madurai before moving to the US for higher studies.

Senior AIADMK leader RB Udhayakumar accused the DMK government of “missing a historic opportunity.”

“Despite Sundar Pichai being a Tamil, the government made no effort to invite Google to invest here. The DMK has shown a lack of vision and proactiveness,” he said, adding that the government’s passive attitude had allowed Andhra Pradesh to secure the landmark project.

Udhayakumar also took a swipe at Tamil Nadu Industries Minister TRB Rajaa for “boasting of investments without transparency.” “Whenever we ask for a white paper on total investments, he gives a blank one,” he quipped.

Rajaa responded that Tamil Nadu continues to be a top investment destination, citing the state’s upcoming Rs 15,000-crore deal with Taiwanese electronics major Foxconn, the manufacturer of Apple products.

Notably, Lokesh’s post is his second public jab celebrating Andhra’s industrial win in recent weeks.

Earlier, after Google confirmed its investment plans, he had posted on X, “Karnataka is feeling the burn!”, triggering a social media war with Karnataka’s IT Minister Priyank Kharge.

Kharge had accused Lokesh and the TDP of “poaching” investments through freebies worth Rs 22,000 crore in tax and utility waivers. Lokesh dismissed the claims, saying, “If they are inefficient, what can I do? Their own industrialists complain about poor infrastructure.”

Andhra Pradesh’s government has attributed Google’s investment to its “4P model” -- People, Public, Private, Partnership -- a strategy it says helped clinch the deal.

According to Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, the Visakhapatnam project will be the tech giant’s largest AI hub outside the U.S.

The plan includes a 1-gigawatt data centre campus, renewable energy facilities, and an expanded fibre-optic network. The project is expected to create around 6,000 direct and 30,000 indirect jobs and generate approximately Rs 10,000 crore in annual revenue for Andhra Pradesh.