In Bihar, two fronts in pursuit of power

Though the Bihar assembly polls are scheduled for later this year, parties have soft-launched their campaigns.

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Setting the tone for the BJP, Union home minister Amit Shah in Patna said the polls will be held under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar. The NDA in Bihar is a formidable five-party alliance with a broad-spectrum social base. The pitch is that "double-engine" NDA governments alone can ensure the state's development, contrasting this with a claim of "jungle raj" under the RJD. The RJD last ran the government two decades ago; it had brief stints in office later in alliance with the JD(U) with Kumar being the CM throughout the period. The polls will te