A most curious politician in this election is Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. There's a video on social media in which he is seen sitting on the dais at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in north Bihar. Modi vigorously chants "Vande Mataram" and the crowd responds full-throatedly; the dais is crowded with politicians also standing and raising their arms with the cheers. All except Kumar, who remains seated and conspicuously unenthusiastic. No smile, even.

Why on Earth is Kumar so tense? After all, some reports say his JD(U)-BJP alliance is not doing too badly, considering that in Bihar the upper castes are solidly behind Modi, unlike in UP where the upper castes are split. His opponent, the RJD, is missing its chief Lalu Prasad, who is in poor health and has been incarcerated for corruption.