Kishanganj: On either side of National Highway-27, from Bagdogra in North Bengal to Kishanganj in Bihar, all you can see is tea leaves. Quite literally. If you were to stop for a bite of sweet-sour pineapples sold at every second milestone, you would also get a taste of what's brewing this election season in Seemanchal, the farthest corner of poll-bound Bihar, that touches Nepal in the north and the Chicken’s Neck in the east.

The 24 seats in the four districts of the region — Kishanganj, Araria, Purnia and Katihar — will go to the polls in the second phase. These districts have a high percentage of Muslim population, as high as 60% in Kishanganj and 40% in Katihar.

The demography suits the I.N.D.I.A. bloc — the RJD and Congress. It did, for decades. Till AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi de

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