At least eight prominent Indian opposition politicians have reported receiving warnings from Apple that “state-sponsored attackers” might have targeted their iPhones, raising concerns about possible digital espionage ahead of next year’s general election.

The newly formed alliance of opposition parties immediately accused the government of spying, an allegation rejected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party. The government promised to investigate to “get to the bottom of these notifications”.

The possible attacks come ahead of a handful of Indian state elections this year and next year’s general election, in which an alliance of opposition parties created in July and known by the acronym INDIA, hope to deny the Hindu nationalist BJP a third term in power.