Karpuri Gram, Oct. 31 -- After a three-hour drive from Patna via Hajipur towards Bihar's Samastipur district, the road suddenly gleams with freshly laid tarmac. To your left, an archway bears the inscription - Bharat Ratna Jannayak Karpoori Thakur Smriti Dwar.

The gate leads you to an alley leading to Karpoori Gram - the ancestral village of former two-time chief minister and socialist icon - Karpoori Thakur.

As Bihar heads to assembly elections on 6 and 11 November, Karpoori Thakur and his legacy are being discussed in his home state once again, more than three decades after his death. Political parties across the spectrum have been claiming his legacy in a bid to bolster their chances in the polls.

On October 24, Prime Minister Naren...