Business Standard

Bihar: What is at stake for Modi in the first election after Covid-19?

The state is currently ruled by a coalition that includes Modi's BJP and the election will be the first political test of how voters view his handling of the pandemic

Nitish Kumar, Narendra Modi
Premium

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar greets Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election meeting, ahead of Bihar Assembly elections, at Biada Maida in Sasaram on Friday.

Bibhudatta Pradhan | Bloomberg
India’s eastern state Bihar goes to polls Wednesday in an exercise spread across two weeks. The election is the first test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party since the Covid-19 pandemic struck. A strict nationwide lockdown has resulted in the country’s worst economic downturn in decades and both unemployment and virus infections have soared. India trails only the U.S. as the nation with the most highest case tally.

1. Why does Bihar matter so much?

The state is one of the country’s poorest and lags on most development indicators, but its massive population makes

What you get on BS Premium?

  • Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.
  • Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.
  • Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.
  • Preferential invites to Business Standard events.
  • Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.
VIEW ALL FAQs

Need More Information - write to us at assist@bsmail.in