5 must reads on Nitish Kumar vs Narendra Modi in Bihar from dna archives

#1 Caste casts shadow on Nitish Kumar's development agenda
Caste and communal issues override economic and agricultural ones, which have the potential to turnaround the Bihar's fortunes.

#2 Why Nitish Kumar made a huge mistake by breaking up with Narendra Modi
If pollsters and their opinion polls are anything to go by, Nitish Kumar seems to be headed for a big rout in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. His party JD(U), which fought in alliance for 17 years with BJP, had swept the last Lok Sabha elections with their alliance NDA winning 32 out of 40 seats leaving the primary opposition RJD gasping for breath with just four seats in its tally. But, as BJP announced Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, the trusted alliance broke and the JDU decided to contest the elections on its own—an event that might cost them the next election very dearly.

#3 Can Nitish Kumar save himself?
Despite the chief minister's work, JD (U)'s outgoing MP, Meena Singh, is unlikely to retain his seat. Sociologists say that Nitish's political fate hinges on how far the backwards will come out to cast their vote as Nitish's policies have mostly benefit them.

#4 Will Nitish Kumar lose Bihar to Narendra Modi over a bottle of alcohol? 
According to a study conducted by Institute of Human Development, more than half of rural women were suffering domestic violence due to liquor. Therefore, Nitish Kumar may have brought development to Bihar in terms of improved roads and electricity, but his underestimation of women power and their abhorrence towards liquor may cost him votes amongst fairer sex across the state.

#5 Did we overestimate the political acumen of Nitish Kumar?
The story of Bihar’s ‘turnaround man’, Nitish Kumar, is way too puzzling for many political pundits. How can a ‘redeemer’, who till a year back was heaped with encomiums, suddenly become a subject of derision?