Asia’s biggest billionaires are becoming involved in the largest election in history.
On March 31, 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a crowd at a campaign event in Meerut.
Two of the wealthiest businesspeople on the planet are getting entangled in India’s increasingly contentious election campaign.
The most populous country in the world is currently holding a massive election in which it is generally anticipated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would win an unprecedented third straight term.
Modi is campaigning on the strength of his economic achievements during the last ten years, which have seen strong growth for both India and its two most well-known billionaires, Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani. Both individuals have been prominent supporters of Modi and have been compared to the industrialists who contributed to the development of America’s “Gilded Age.” However, other politicians have strongly criticized them for their alleged closeness.
However, during a Wednesday election rally, Modi seemed to accuse his main rival of receiving funding from Gautam Adani, the founder of the port-to-energy giant the Adani Group, and Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, the most valuable private company in India.
“Why has Shahzade Ji suddenly stopped discussing Adani and Ambani in this election? Modi stated on X, where he uploaded a video of his address, “People are smelling a secret deal.” Shahzade, which means prince, alludes to Rahul Gandhi, the longstanding spokesperson for the Indian National Congress, the major opposition party.
At the gathering, he questioned, “How much money have you taken from Ambani and Adani?”
Gandhi, the descendant of a family that has produced three prime ministers for India, has frequently questioned Modi’s relationship with the nation’s most powerful tycoons.
In response, Gandhi asked on X on Wednesday, “Are you scared, Modi?” “This is the first public discussion you have had about Ambani and Adani.”
He continued, calling for an official probe into the two corporations. “I want to repeat to the country that the amount of money Modi has given to these businessmen, we are going to give the same amount to India’s poor,” he said.
Opaque nature of funding
Although both candidates have charged one another with receiving truckloads of cash from the two businessmen illegally, none of them has offered any evidence to support their allegations.
Regarding the frequently ambiguous nature of political fundraising, the Indian Supreme Court rendered a significant decision earlier this year. It ruled that the anonymous donation scheme that the Modi administration had instituted in 2017 was “unconstitutional.”
Through the electoral bonds system, people or organizations could purchase bonds from the State Bank of India, which is managed by the government, and give them to any political party in secret.
For a long time, anti-corruption organizations have expressed dissatisfaction with the system since it allowed corporations to make substantial payments to political parties without disclosing their intentions.
Although Modi’s address regarding the billionaires garnered attention in India, experts do not anticipate that his remarks would lead to a thorough examination by regional media or an official probe.
“There is no major desire to go after crony capitalism in the country, given the close ties between legacy media and top businesses in India,” stated Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry, an independent media-focused news website.
substantial conglomerates that invest in a wide range of sectors own a substantial number of India’s top media organizations. Analysts have stated that these corporations are under pressure to maintain their friendship with the ruling party in order to secure favorable policies for their other businesses.
Billionaire Raj
Ambani and Adani have both astounded the globe with their success and clout during the past ten years.
The richest man in Asia, Ambani, 67, is in charge of an empire that includes companies in the media, telecom, and clean energy, among others.
Adani’s enormous $200 billion conglomerate, like Reliance, is involved in vital areas like energy and logistics, which are vital to India’s economic development. The billionaire is presently the second richest person in Asia, according to Bloomberg, but in 2022 he momentarily dethroned Jeff Bezos as the second richest person worldwide.
Investors have applauded the pair for their ability to place bets on industries that Modi has identified as important, but detractors claim that their rise is fostering crony capitalism in the fastest-growing economy in the world.
During his 2014 prime minister campaign, Modi made use of Adani’s private jet. Both the industrialists and the ruling party have refuted any allegations of favoritism throughout the years.
The Adani group faced an unprecedented crisis in January 2023 after it was accused of decades-long fraud by American short-seller Hindenburg Research.
Adani called Hindenburg’s analysis “malicious” and “baseless,” but it didn’t stop the incredible collapse of the stock market, which at one point erased over $100 billion from the value of its listed firms.
The biggest opposition party in India’s political hierarchy fiercely questioned Adani’s ties with the prime minister, with some even claiming they were being penalized for raising the matter.
Since then, Adani’s businesses have seen incredible growth, with stock prices reaching all-time highs.