By Diksha Madhok

New DelhiCNN — Two of the planet’s richest businessmen are becoming embroiled in India’s increasingly divisive election campaign.

The world’s most populous nation is in the midst of a mammoth election in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to secure a rare third consecutive term.

Modi is running on his economic record over the past 10 years, a period of robust growth for India, as well as for its two most famous billionaires: Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. Likened to the industrialists who helped build America’s “Gilded Age,” both men are considered vocal champions of Modi and their perceived closeness has been the subject of intense criticism by rival politicians.

But at an election rally on Wednesday, Modi appeared to accuse his primary political opponent of accepting money from Ambani, chairman of India’s most valuable private company Reliance Industries, and Gautam Adani, the founder of ports-to-energy conglomerate the Adani Group.

“Why has Shahzade Ji stopped talking of Ambani and Adani in this election all of sudden? People are smelling a secret deal,” Modi said on X, where he posted a video of his speech. Shahzade, or prince, is a widely understood reference to Rahul Gandhi, the longtime face of main opposition party Indian National Congress.

“How much money have you taken from Ambani and Adani?” he said at the rally.

Gandhi, the scion of a dynasty that has given India three prime ministers, has often asked tough questions about the relationship between Modi and the country’s leading tycoons.

“Are you scared, Modi” Gandhi said in a response on X on Wednesday. “This is the first time you have talked about Ambani and Adani in public.”

“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 added, asking for an official investigation into the two conglomerates.

Reliance and the Adani Group did not respond to a CNN request for comment.

This story was originally published in cnn.com. Read the full story here.