ALL EYES ON BIHAR AS POLL BATTLE HEATS UP

Anti-incumbency, brand Modi, and new political equations set stage for fierce contest

- BY NIDHI RAZDAN | Special to Gulf News

As the festive season gets underway in India, the next big political battle is upon us — the Bihar assembly election only a few weeks away.

The fight for Bihar is a high stakes one for all the players. For the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United), it is a fight against anti-incumbency, a test for brand Modi and whether is can still override headwinds on the ground. For the Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), it is a battle for relevance, a crucial moment to see if the ‘vote stealing’ card worked and whether the young leadership of Tejaswi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi can make a big impact. And then there is the unknown factor — Prashant Kishor who could be spoiler or kingmaker or simply make no impact at all.