Bihar polls: Know who is contesting in 2nd phase from your constituency

In the absence of a popular local leader, Mr Modi has led the campaign for his party and has addressed a number of well-attended campaign meetings.

Will the progressive women of Bihar vote for Nitish-Lalu or go the youth’s way and vote for development, breaking the caste equation. Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena ministers boycotted the ground-breaking ceremony for the memorial after party chief Uddhav Thackeray was not invited to the function, reflecting the widening rift between the saffron partners in the ruling coalition in Maharashtra.

Opinion polls are predicting a closely fought election, with the BJP-led alliance holding the edge.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav who were caught in a last minute embarrassment after videos of one of the ministers in the Nitish cabinet taking bribe emerged on the social media on Sunday.

Chief Minister said Bihar assembly elections was crucial as BJP was trying its best to come to the power in the state by resorting to hooks and crooks.

The Election Commission gave this assurance to a BJP delegation, which met with the Chief Election Commissioner and other two Election Commissioners, and submitted a letter against corrupt practices by the Bihar Government in the on-going Assembly elections. “If he loses Bihar, he may get reined in by those who are opposed to him from within the party and outside”.

A 50-year-old Muslim man was killed by a lynch mob in a northern Indian village last month over rumours that he ate beef. “Clearly, the law of diminishing returns has started working”, said economist and former Patna College principal Nawal Kishore Choudhary.

Bihar, India’s third-most populous state, has never been ruled by BJP on its own with elections being traditionally won by regional parties and alliances.

The first phase of Bihar elections for 49 seats saw a voter turnout of 57%, according to Election Commission of India.

About 8.58 million voters are eligible to decide the fate of 456 candidates on Friday.

Voters in most polling booths said they would vote for development.

While growth is now purring along at around seven percent, complaints have been mounting about his failure to nail down major reforms.

That has allowed the opposition parties to block the government’s critical land, taxation and other legislative reforms needed to overhaul the economy.