New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- Elections to the Bihar legislative assembly are nearing. The main contest is between India's two principal political formations: the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition INDIA group.

The main issue, judging by political rhetoric, still revolves around the claimed development record of Nitish Kumar, Bihar's incumbent chief minister for the last two decades, and the alleged 'jungle raj' during 15 years of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) rule earlier.

The rhetoric aside, Bihar's is a story of a state that has seen its economic situation worsen over the years. This has been a consistent trend irrespective of the party in power. There exists comparable data on gross state domestic product (GSDP) since 1961. ...