POLITICAL DRAMA PEAKS IN BIHAR ASSEMBLY RACE

Bihar remains steeped in politics even in the midst of festivities.

- SHASHI SHEKHAR

For the Biharis, there's no bigger pastime than politics. In the past two decades, Bihar has coined a fresh adage—power follows where Nitish Kumar tilts. This is why, despite the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) growing tendency to sideline its alliance partners, it's content being the junior partner of Nitish's Janata Dal (United), or JDU, in the state. Even Nitish's 'elder brother', Lalu Prasad Yadav, faces the same predicament.

Any party that's not with Nitish would spew venom against him but secretly pines to ally with him. This is why Lalu joined hands with Nitish in 2022 even after a bitter split in 2017. During the two Mahagathbandhan stints, the BJP leaders kept vowing publicly that they will never ever ally with Nitish. However, today they are readying themselves to face the assembly elections with their "natural partner" for the third time in the state.