Bihar holds first round of polls today

Indian policemen carry Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) to polling stations in Patna yesterday. India's turbulent eastern state of Bihar is preparing to vote today for the second time this year amid tight security. PHOTO: AFP

Bihar's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is the second largest party in the Congress-led central coalition and analysts say a poor showing could see leftist allies bring more pressure on the government to slow economic reforms.

Bihar was ruled for 15 years by the RJD before polls in February returned a hung assembly and ended its reign.

"If the RJD does badly, it would be a major setback for the federal coalition and allow the leftists to reignite the debate over reforms," political analyst and lecturer Mahesh Rangarajan told Reuters.

"A defeat could be portrayed by the leftists as people's rejection of the Congress' free market policies."