The stretch of road leading to a modest house in this central Bihar village reminds you of an equally narrow lane in a dingy south Calcutta neighbourhood.

The rundown house with battered, discoloured brick walls stands amid equally humble, though leafier, surroundings as its similar tiled-roof counterpart in Kalighat.

Of all that are common between Kalyan Bigha and 30B

Harish Chatterjee Street, the most important is that the chief ministers of Bihar and Bengal call them home. Although, unlike

Mamata Banerjee, Nitish

Kumar no longer lives in his ancestral house.

The parallels between the houses of the leaders of the Trinamul Congress and the Janata Dal United (JDU) don't come as a surprise to Saugata Roy.

"Both rose from humble backgrounds. Both are scrupulously honest and dedicated to their calling," the Trinamul MP said.

Although Opposition parties in Bengal have often cited the wealth of some of Mamata's relatives and party colleagues to question her personal probity, they haven't been able to dent her image till now.

Nitish's personal rectitude has been one of his key assets in poll-season Bihar, with his supporters highlighting how, after 10 years in power, he faces not one accusation of corruption.

His home in Kalyan Bigha, in Barah panchayat of Nalanda district's Harnaut block, bears testimony to how, in a state where 90 per cent of the population is rural, Nitish has taken care to emphasise his humble roots.

"This house doesn't have an electricity connection," said Sitaram, the caretaker. None from the chief minister's family lives in the house any longer: Nitish has been living in government bungalows in New Delhi and Patna for over two decades.

"I had once told Nitishji that it would be good if we have electricity," Sitaram said. "He replied that his priority was to take electricity to each home in Bihar."

Nitish visits his village home at least three times every year. "He wants to

keep the house exactly as it was in his growing up days," Sitaram said.

The chief minister, however, has not denied his village the fruits of development. To

an outsider, Kalyan Bigha, which you can reach at the end of a smooth ride from Harnaut, has the look of a model village.

It has a well-stocked public healthcare centre, a two-storey high school and a middle school, an Industrial Training Institute, a shooting range and well-maintained water bodies.

"Everything here is because of Nitishji," said Sitaram, a view echoed by many in the village.

Mamata's neighbours too credit the improved quality of life on Harish Chatterjee Street to their Didi.

Some amenities have been added over the past few years to the Bengal chief minister's home but Trinamul sources say she has fiercely protected the original structure and layout.

"We know about Mamataji's humble lifestyle; that's why our chief minister likes her a lot," said BIhar industry minister Shyam Rajak, who has been a visitor to Mamata's home.

"Yes, they have good relations," Roy agreed.

The similarities between the chief ministers extend to their political careers.

Mamata and Nitish have served two terms each as railway minister. Both made their presence felt in New Delhi in the 1980s, Mamata entering Parliament in 1984 and Nitish five years later. Both used to be part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance although Nitish's stint was longer.

"One shouldn't forget that their political trajectories have been different, though," Roy said.

"Nitishji grew under the JP (Jayaprakash Narayan) movement, while Mamata rose from her own movement against forcible land acquisition."

As a Youth Congress activist in the 1970s, Mamata had protested against JP during a Calcutta visit by the socialist icon but no one in Trinamul or the JDU wants to remember the incident now.

Both Mamata and Nitishhad to defeat long-entrenched enemies to become chief minister: the Left Front in Bengal and Lalu Prasad in Bihar. But Mamata's position looks more secure.

Nitish faces perhaps his biggest political test in this Assembly election, whose outcome will be known on November 8. There appears no serious challenger yet to Mamata in Bengal, where polls are due next summer.

Nalanda district votes on October 28