4 Lok Sabha constituencies voted in Phase-I | Bihar buzz: Modi leading light, Tejashwi sonrise, Nitish sunset

In Bihar, which voted Friday in four Lok Sabha constituencies and where elections for the state’s 40 seats will be held in all seven phases, there appears to be no overwhelming wave in favour of one party, no single emotive issue that has captured the imagination of voters.

It’s a state key to the number game that will help decide who returns to the Centre. Across large swathes, as one travels from the districts in the south on the border with Jharkhand to those in the north close to Nepal, what is clear though is the voter’s nuanced response.

Some say the ruling NDA should win with local variations and some tough fights; others predict an upset, still others are keeping their cards close to the chest.

Conversations on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies are intense and divided but his supporters underline the TINA (there-is-no-alternative) factor this election and that the BJP under Modi should do better than those dissing the BJP.

Yet they concede that the tally may dip below the 2019 near-sweep of 39 out of 40 seats.

There is one consensus that seems to cut across quite a few fault lines, even among detractors of the RJD: Tejashwi Yadav is a politician who has worked hard to ensure that the legacy of his father Lalu Prasad doesn’t fade away.

“I am with Modiji here, and he will be PM again. But do not forget that Tejashwi has worked hard to keep his party alive while Lalu Prasad was either in jail or ailing. He is leading from the front. Ek din Chief Minister ban ke rahega ye jaan lijiye (take my word, he will become CM one day),” says Ravi Ranjan of Muzaffarpur city.

In Samastipur, a supporter of BJP ally LJP has a similar take. “Tejashwi woh neta-putra hai jo raj yog ke liye bana hai. Ghoomta raha rajya bhar mein