Narendra Modi's Bihar blitz smells like overkill to the Brahmins of the Mithila region, who are considered core BJP supporters. The Prime Minister is scheduled to hold some 30 election rallies in the state, of which he has already addressed over 20. To many in this north Bihar region, that seems like stooping too low to conquer.

"Modi keeya rewaria chayee?" says Lallan Jha, a middle-aged man waiting for his paan at a shop outside Shyama temple in Darbhanga town. What he means is: "Why is Modi chasing the Bihar voters?"

He has never seen any Prime Minister holding so many rallies in a state election, Jha says.

He wonders why Modi is so desperate to win Bihar, and fears the dignity of the Prime Minister's office could suffer.

" Pad ka garima gir raha hai (The dignity of his office is plummeting)," he says.

Modi has put his image at stake in the Bihar elections, Jha feels, and that does not behove the leader of the country.

Some 20km away in Nehra village, Bhagwan Das Choudhary, a retired schoolteacher who spends most of his time reading newspapers, feels that in general, people like Modi.

But, he adds, " Jab log izzat karte hai toh izzat bachana bhi padta hai (When people respect you then you have to also safeguard your reputation)."

The Prime Minister should not invest so much in the Bihar elections, Bhagwan Das feels, and should leave it to the state BJP leaders and central ministers from Bihar.

About 20 of Modi's ministers - roughly one-third of the government of India - are campaigning in Bihar.

At Nehra village, Amar-nath Choudhary, a retired staff member of Pandaul College in adjacent Madhubani, feels Modi is trying too hard: "Prime Minister kuch jyada hi kar rahe hai."

Citing Modi's mudslinging at RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his children, Amarnath adds: "One should be cautious about the dignity of the high post."

The unease with the Prime Minister going on the overdrive in Bihar resonates among young voters as well.

Most Maithil Brahmins and even large sections of the backward caste voters had backed Modi in last year's Lok Sabha elections. They still believe that there was no alternative to Modi at the central level, but beg to differ when it comes to Bihar.

"State and central elections are totally different," reminds Amarnath, before expressing doubt whether the BJP would be able to win Bihar given the decent image chief minister Nitish Kumar enjoys, and his performance in the past 10 years.

"Here most Brahmins will vote against the RJD candidate. Not to defeat Nitish Kumar, but to defeat Lalit Yadav. He has become intolerable," says Amarnath, who considers Nitish best suited for the chief minister's post.

Lalit Yadav is the RJD candidate from the Darbhanga Rural seat. A four-term MLA, he is known as a " dabang" (ruthless) leader whose henchmen allegedly oversee a reign of terror in the area.

Amarnath is not the only one to underline the distinction between central and state elections. Several people admit they voted for Modi last year, and say that could change in this election.

Outside Raghopur village near Sakri, Kameshwar Chaupal, a kahar by caste, earns a living by repairing cycles. He shows his scarred palms as evidence of him being a staunch BJP backer during the Lok Sabha elections.

"We were bursting crackers to celebrate the BJP's victory and a cracker went off in my hand. My palms were badly burnt," Chaupal says, adding that Kirti Azad, the BJP MP from Darbhanga, gave him Rs 2,500 for treatment.

" Iss election me lekin phul chhap par vote nahi denge. Jaise Modiji ko upar koi nahi hila sakta, Bihar me Nitish ko bhi koi nahi hila sakta (I will note vote for the lotus in this election. Just as nobody can topple Modi at the top, in Bihar nobody can vanquish Nitish)," Chaupal declares.

The Darbhanga and Madhubani regions are considered the Grand Alliance strongholds because of the strong presence of Muslim and Yadav voters. In many constituencies, however, the Maithil Brahmins have substantial presence and their united vote gives the BJP a fair number of wins. But whether the Modi magic still works on them is a question that will determine his party's fate here.

• Darbhanga votes on November 5