Modi ally Adani's firm's shares crash 25% during India vote count

Shares in the main listed unit of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate nosedived 25% on Tuesday, before rebounding slightly, as election results suggested a reduced majority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Adani is considered a longtime close associate of Hindu-nationalist Modi, both from Gujarat state.

Opposition parties and other critics have accused Adani of benefitting from their relationship to unfairly win business and avoid proper oversight.

Adani Enterprises pared losses slightly to close down 19% lower at $35.33 (2,950 rupees) per share, down $6.44 from Tuesday's open.

Shares in other Adani Group companies also crashed, with broadcaster NDTV down 19% and the conglomerate's ports division closing 21% lower.

"When Modi is losing, the stock market says... Adani will go as well," top opposition leader Rahul Gandhi told a press conference. 

"This means there is a direct relationship, a relationship of corruption."

Adani businesses were the biggest negative movers in what was the Mumbai stock exchange's worst day since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic four years ago, with the Sensex benchmark closing 5.7% lower.

Exit polls had predicted a landslide victory for BJP and its allies in this year's election.

But after the end of the vote count, election commission figures showed Modi is to win a third term but with a greatly reduced majority.

Last year Adani Group saw more than $150 billion wiped from its market value after a bombshell report by US investment research firm Hindenburg Research accusing it of "brazen" corporate fraud. 

The family-run conglomerate's founder saw his personal fortune collapse by around $80 billion as a result, but both Adani and his business have since pared much of those losses as public scrutiny receded.

Adani Group has denied the allegations of fraud documented in the report, last year calling it a "deliberate attempt" to damage the image of his conglomerate for the benefit of short-sellers.