Politically sensitive stocks back in focus

Mumbai: In this Lok Sabha election there are more politically sensitive stocks in the equity market than last time. With no signs of a clear win for any political alliance in the elections this time, the politically sensitive stocks are likely to come into focus as the big event on May 23 comes closer.

Politically sensitive stocks—both private sector ones as well as a large basket of public sector undertakings, especially newly listed defence and railway stocks—may show a high degree of volatility when exit polls are announced on May 19, and in the next four trading sessions till May 23 and beyond.

Stocks of Gujarat Government owned companies will also be in focus; they had rallied last time when BJP-led NDA came to power with Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister.

Public sector banks would be also on watch by the market participants as agriculture loan waiver to farmers promised by the Congress will be a big negative for them.

Among the private sector companies that usually come into focus right before the election outcome include Adani Group stocks, with the market perception that the group is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Similarly, the market perceives DLF to be close to the Congress, Sun TV Network to the DMK and IRB Infrastructure to NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

This time Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group stocks, like Reliance Naval and Engineering and Reliance Infrastructure, will be in focus with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's direct attack on Anil Ambani in the Rafale aircraft deal and the government ignoring Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which too has now become a listed company on stock exchanges.

SpiceJet, owned by Ajay Singh, and Coffee Day Enterprises, owned by V G Siddhartha, son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna, are also likely to come in focus, as investors would like to weigh the outcome on Lok Sabha elections on these stocks.

SM Krishna, a former Congress veteran, who quit the grand old party and joined the BJP in 2017 has said that Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister once again was inevitable. Krishna is also campaigning for BJP in this Lok Sabha election.

IRB Infrastructure's Chairman and Managing Director Virendra D Mhaiskar, market believes, is close to Sharad Pawar.

Ajay Singh, who stepped in to save SpiceJet and is one of the airline's original promoters, is understood to have close ties to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Singh is said to have coined the 2014 general election slogan, Ab Ki Baar, Modi Sarkar.