India, Oct. 8 -- Bihar will vote on November 6 and 11 to elect a new assembly. The parties leading the two major alliances in the state have ruled the state for three and a half decades now. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) ruled the state from 1990-2005 and the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) has been in power from 2005 onwards, more than 15 years of which have been in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Despite such remarkable political stability in government, Bihar continues to be among the poorest in the country. What explains the persistent poverty in the state, from a macroeconomic (not a rhetorical) perspective? Here are four charts which answer this question.

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