Nepal, April 4 -- The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has unleashed a war cry for the Bihar assembly elections due later this year with its now favourite pitch-a 'double-engine government'. Although this weapon to attract voters does have a certain sex appeal and might even work in swinging some votes towards the party, it is an affront to India's federal structure and an ugly precedent to set in the country's democratic polity.

In a rally in Bihar over the weekend, BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to the voters to vote for the ruling Janata Dal (United)-BJP alliance with a clear underlying message-how only a government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar can bring development to Bihar a...