“It’s about umami, not spice”: MB Patil takes dig at Nara Lokesh

Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure MB Patil

Karnataka Industries Minister MB Patil on February 25 took a swipe at Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh, saying, “It’s all about umami, not spice,” in the latest round of political sparring between the two states over big-ticket investments.

Patil’s remark comes months after Lokesh’s veiled jibe on social media, where he wrote: “They say Andhra food is spicy. Seems some of our investments are too. Some neighbours are already feeling the burn! #AndhraRising #YoungestStateHighestInvestment.”

On Tuesday, Patil shared a post on X highlighting major investments and expansions in Bengaluru in February 2026. The post said that: “Amazon opened a 11 lakh sq ft campus in North Bengaluru. Google locked in a 26 lakh sq ft expansion at Alembic City in Whitefield. Apple expanded its presence at Embassy Zenith by 1.21 lakh sq ft, taking its total footprint to 3.89 lakh sq ft. Anthropic launched its first Bengaluru office. OpenAI announced plans to open a Bengaluru office later in 2026. Tesla began local hiring”. The post described Bengaluru as “surging towards a top global tech and AI hub, accommodating both tech leaders and disruptors.”

The exchange traces back to October 2025, when Lokesh made his ‘spicy investments’ comment amid competition between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to attract large technology projects.

The war of words escalated after Google pledged to invest $15 billion over the next five years to establish a one-gigawatt-scale artificial intelligence hub in Visakhapatnam.

Responding to criticism from Karnataka IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge over Andhra Pradesh’s investment incentives, Lokesh had defended his state’s approach on X with the ‘spice’ analogy.

Kharge countered, saying: “Everyone enjoys a bit of spice in their food, but just as nutritionists recommend a balanced diet, economists too advocate a balanced budget.” He also flagged Andhra Pradesh’s fiscal position, stating that the state’s total liabilities had “ballooned to nearly Rs 10 lakh crore,” with borrowings of over Rs 1.61 lakh crore in one year and the revenue deficit-to-GSDP ratio rising from 2.65 percent to 3.61 percent.

On October 15, Kharge further alleged that Andhra Pradesh had offered substantial incentives to secure Google’s investment, including full GST reimbursement and subsidised land, water and power, which he pegged at around Rs 22,000 crore.  Lokesh hit back, questioning Karnataka’s governance and infrastructure. “If they are inefficient, what can I do? Their own industrialists say the infrastructure is bad... there are power cuts. They should first fix those problems,” he said.