New Delhi, Nov. 10 -- Bettiah/Gaya/Darbhanga/Patna: On the face of it, the 2025 assembly election in Bihar is a battle between chief minister Nitish Kumar and the opposition's main face, Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

But peel the layers and beneath lies the real fight: Nitish Kumar versus Nitish Kumar. Because at the heart of this election is the chief minister of two decades and two dominant narratives-his governance record and the transformation of Bihar from a 'jungle raj' to a functioning state versus his inability to tackle the throbbing pain of unemployment and a fatigue with his long tenure. This has caused a yearning for badlaav (change).

It is, in a sense, a textbook Indian election- everyday iss...