Avnish Jain, head of fixed income at Canara Robeco Asset Management, said: “If the government is weak, even if the NDA forms it, then they won’t have the full ability to do the reforms.

“It could lead to a broader fiscal push and some populism in the budget.”

The sharp drop in the value of Adani Enterprises is the latest setback for the group, whose activities span ports, airports, power, coal and renewable energy infrastructure.

It had been staging a recovery following an attack by a US-short seller in early 2023, which accused it of stock price manipulation and accounting fraud.

The allegations, which were strongly denied by Mr Adani, forced the company to abandon a $2.4bn share sale as international investors steered clear. The incident wiped as much as $150bn off its market value.

The business was close to clawing all of that back before the election jitters shook investor confidence.