Pakistan, Nov. 5 -- ndia's poorest state, Bihar, will go to the polls on Thursday, with economic hardship and unemployment emerging as the central issues for its 130 million residents.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hoping to capitalize on voters' economic concerns, offering cash incentives and large-scale investment promises in a bid to secure full control in the state - a feat it has never achieved alone.

Despite recent progress in reducing poverty, Bihar remains India's worst-performing state on poverty indicators, with a GDP per capita of 52,379 rupees. Many families, like that of Rajkumari Devi in Muzaffarpur, survive on irregular daily wages. "There is unemployment everywhere," she said, describing ...