The battle for Bihar

As the first of five phases in the Bihar Assembly election gets underway Pranav Gupta takes a look at the political alliances that have formed to contest what is shaping up to be a very tight race. He argues that although voting patterns in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections would suggest an easy win for Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s partnership, there are multiple factors which mean the contest remains open in Bihar