Voting begins in India's poorest state

Election a test of BJP's popularity

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A photograph taken on Nov 1 shows a man walking past a banner featuring India's PM Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar.

(AFP)

India's poorest state Bihar goes to the polls today, and for many of its 130 million people, one issue overshadows all others: money.

That's what Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hopes to capitalise on, wooing voters with economic incentives in a bid to win full control.

A win here, strategists say, could "energise" the BJP's prospects in other key states heading into next year's elections.

Hindu-majority Bihar, the country's third most populous state roughly equal to Mexico is a bellwether battleground.

It remains the only state in the Hindi-speaking north where Modi's Hindu nationalist party has never ruled alone.

For housewife Rajkumari Devi, feeding her three children depends on the daily wage her husband earns as a labourer in the Muzaffarpur district.

He takes home about 400 to 500 rupees (about 180 baht) on the days he does find work.