Nitish will be CM even if RJD wins more seats than JD(U): Lalu

Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister even if RJD wins more seats than JD(U), Lalu Prasad today said.

"Nitish Kumar will be the Chief Minister," Prasad said, in response to a question on who will head the government if RJD wins the maximum seats among 'grand alliance' partners.

He, however, dodged a question on whether his party will demand the deputy chief minister's post.

"Let the results come and everything can be thought upon later. I am already out of race. Whatever work had to be done by me has been done," the RJD supremo added.

After the voting for a high-pitch poll battle came to an end, Prasad claimed that the 'grand alliance' of JD(U), RJD and Congress will get two-third majority and the BJP will get anything between 10 and 40 seats.

"The grand alliance will win more than 190 seats. Ninety per cent of the backward classes, Dalits, minorities and the poorer section of the upper caste have voted for us. Our good spell started from phase 1 and was satisfactory.

"In phases 2,3 and 4, the BJP-led alliance had put in a lot of effort and also had a influence in those regions, but I stayed put in these areas and ensured that they are wiped out," the former Bihar Chief Minister said.

Prasad claimed there was a "one-sided" voting in the fifth phase which included areas like Darbhanga, Madhubani, Madhepura, Saharsa, Supol, Kisangarg and Katiyar as these areas are "my bastions".

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prasad allged that the BJP tried to raise the beef issue but that did not work. Raking up the issue of reservations and the comments made by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Prasad said the BJP tried to fiddle with the quota system following which the entire state was now boiling.

"If they think the backward votes have been divided then it is wrong. They fiddled with Dalits, backward class. The issue was what Mohan Bhagwat said that the backward class, Dalits and tribal reservation should be put to an end and the entire state started boiling after this.

"Second was the communal talks. They talked about beef meat, the way Narendra Modi abused Biharis and called me a devil... People took it seriously. How can the country's Prime Minister badmouth Biharis," Prasad said.

Prasad said Bhagwat's comments on reservation also hurt BJP's allies like Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party. Speaking about the last phase, Prasad said it was he who first breached the stronghold of Brahmins in Seemanchal.

"Brahmins please forgive me. Seemanchal was the capital of Brahmins. I established supremacy here for the first time. But Brahmins have also got tickets from us. They have all got votes. Panditji's stomach will be full only if we are there.

"The upper caste people did not visit polling booths fearing how will they face people as Modi has not done anything. When two backwards (Kumar and Prasad) got united... We are students of political science and can forecast about what can happen," Prasad said, adding the alliance has swept all districts and "all is well that ends well".

Taking a jibe at the PM for his "56 inches chest" comment, Prasad said "only a Paswan, Yadav or a poor" can have such a chest.

"I have come to know from a reliable source. Narendra Modi is not the PM of the country, he is a Sangh Pracharak and he is propagating Sangh (ideology) in the country. He has to resign and run away after Bihar polls. Both Modi and (BJP National President) Amit Shah will be destroyed after Bihar polls."

Mocking the exit polls, Prasad said all will fall flat after the polls. "They talk to one person and Lalu speaks to over one lakh people. And with Nitish (in the alliance), the force has doubled," he said.