India, Nov. 7 -- Lest the headline wants you to shout in disagreement, please hold back. This edition of the column does not intend to argue something outlandish for the sake of it. The idea is to underline how politics in Indian states can be very similar in some respects and yet be very different. So, what exactly is the similarity between politics in Bihar and Tamil Nadu?

They are the only two major states in India where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress - only two national parties to reckon with in India - are junior partners of the two state-based parties which have come out from the same ideological stable.

In Bihar, the Congress is a junior partner of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the BJP is an ally of the Janata...