Regarding campaign funding, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sparred on Wednesday, with each accusing the other of receiving funds from wealthy billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, according to Reuters.
The business giants have not responded to requests for comment from their companies, and neither has publicly stated who, if anyone, they would support in the election. Neither candidate offered any proof to back up their statements.
Following weeks of elections where disagreements overgrowth, poverty, and unemployment are major issues, Modi's remarks aim to refute Gandhi's long-standing allegation about what he claims are Modi's ties to the country's two richest individuals.
However, Modi's shift in strategy may also be the reason for the increased rhetoric.
According to BJP insiders and political analysts who spoke to Reuters, a lower turnout so far in the six-week election has alarmed Modi's campaign managers and raised doubts about whether his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies can pull off the landslide that opinion surveys from a month ago had anticipated.
They claim that because of the lack of momentum, Modi changed the focus of his campaign speeches from emphasizing economic growth before the first round of voting to criticizing opponents for being pro-Muslim and using other strategies to incite the party's conservative base.
"For five years you abused Ambani-Adani and now suddenly you have stopped. Meaning, you have accepted truckloads of some illegal funds. You'll have to answer to the country about this," Modi said at an election rally.
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A few hours later, Gandhi asked Modi whether he was "slightly scared" and advised him to send financial crime detectives out right away to conduct a thorough investigation.
"For the first time, you have spoken in public about Adani and Ambani. Is it your personal experience that you know they give money in trucks?" Gandhi said in a video message. "I want to repeat to the nation that the amount of money Modi has given to them, we are going to give the same amount to India's poor."
In response to Gandhi's comments, Modi's party did not reply right away.
The government disputes Gandhi's long-standing criticism of Modi, which has included claims that the business magnates Ambani and Adani benefit from him and that the gap between the rich and the poor has widened over his ten-year tenure.
In the past, Modi has dismissed claims that he is endorsing the monopolies of Adani and Ambani as "unfounded" and stated that they harm the Congress party.
Adani, the second-richest man in Asia, is the head of the power-to-ports conglomerate Adani Group, while Ambani, the richest man in Asia, is the chairman of the oil-to-media multinational Reliance Industries.
The two industrialists originate from Gujarat, the home state of Modi, and their companies have extensive operations there as well as in other Indian states, including those controlled by opposing parties, as well as abroad.
According to a recent report by the research firm World Inequality Lab, as of 2023, the wealthiest 1% of Indian people controlled 40.1% of the nation's total wealth, marking the highest level since 1961.
The seven-phase Indian election has a start date of April 19 and ends on June 1. Modi is contesting for an uncommon third term in a row.
