India, Oct. 12 -- Will it be the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that will assume office in Patna on November 14, when the Bihar assembly election results are announced? Or will it be the Mahagathbandhan (a phalanx of the larger Opposition alliance, the INDIA bloc, in Bihar)? There's also a third player that is keenly watched - the Jan Suraaj Party, founded by pollster Prashant Kishor, who may emerge as a kingmaker.

The upcoming polls are a high-stakes battle for the big players in the state - the BJP, its allies the Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), and the Lok Janshakti Party- Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP-RVP), and, on the other side, the Congress and its ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Hectic discussions are on among alliance partners to ir...