In what could be a rather erotic moment, way past midnight, we look away a little, as the two men in the front seats of our car, lock their foreheads into each other’s, sideways, as the car zips at top speed. Only that the two men before us—campaign managers of Purnea’s prime candidate, former don and five-time MP, Pappu Yadav—are simply sharing the phone handset, between two ears, during a conversation that is anything but intimate. 

They could put the phone on speaker. But that would mean I can hear what’s being said from the other end. I’d rather not. We are headed to Rajesh Ranjan, aka Pappu’s election HQ, Arjun Bhavan, in the city centre, the night before Purnea in Bihar goes to polls.