Grand Alliance to win 190 seats: Lalu

Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday said the Grand Alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will win 190 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly.

Addressing a press conference here at the end of the five-phased assembly polls, he said his assessment came from the fact that voters from backward classes and the poor among the upper castes were on the side of the Grand Alliance of the Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress.

Answering a query, Lalu Prasad said Nitish Kumar will continue to be the chief minister.

He said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's remarks about review of reservation policy was "a serious issue" which agitated the whole of Bihar.

Lalu Prasad accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "abusing" the people of Bihar and calling him "shaitan (devil)".

"People have taken a serious note of it. He (Modi) hasn't delivered yet on any of his promises," said the former chief minister, and accused the BJP of trying to play the "communal card" in the elections.

"The entire backward community of Bihar voted for us. We salute them for this," Lalu Prasad said.