It's a lot like great music, or a stand-up comic's act, which sounds as good on your speakers on YouTube, but the infectious energy of a live gig is still incomparable.

As is the case with CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, 32, at a sabha in Nawab Chowk in Begusarai town, where we join his campaign. He gently tears into the Opposition to loud cheers on his perfectly-timed punch lines: "In five years, Smriti Irani jee's educational qualification has dropped from BA to plus-two… She should become a minister, but B-Tech [degree holders] pakoda taley (fry pakodas)?"