In Madhubani, candidates find going not so easy

Yadav began his career as 'mukhiya' (village chief) and was a socialist till he joined the BJP in 1996. He is heavily banking on the Modi factor as he is facing the combined might of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress for the first time with their traditional social support base Yadav and Muslims closing ranks.

This has left BJP workers worried.

"Our hope lies with division of Yadavs and Muslims between RJD of Lalu Prasad and JD-U of Nitish Kumar...," Kundan Jha, a BJP worker here, said.

"Yadav is unpopular because he failed to fulfill promises of development despite being MP for three terms," said Sanjay Mishra, a Brahmin resident of Barhara village.

Brahmins, who at nearly 11 percent of population have sizeable votes, are by and large supporting Modi.