Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday said the Grand Alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) will win 190 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly and the latter will be the Chief Minister.

Addressing a press conference in Patna 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.

"Nitish was and is our candidate for Chief Minister. Even if the RJD gets more seats, Nitish will be Chief Minister", the RJD chief said.

As curtains came down on Thursday on the staggered five-phase assembly elections in Bihar, various exit polls appeared to be divided over the fate of major parties in the fray with some predicting NDA win and even a hung assembly.

An India Today-Cicero exit poll on Thursday predicted a hung assembly in Bihar, with the BJP-led alliance winning 120 seats to the Grand Alliance's 117. Any party or combine would need 122 seats to secure a simple majority in the 243-member assembly.

Meanwhile, NewsX predicted that the BJP and its allies are set to lose the battle for the Bihar assembly, winning only 95 of the 243 seats

It said the BJP and its three allies would secure 90-100 seats while the Grand Alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will win 130-140 seats whereas CVoter predicted a narrow JD-U win.

Exit poll agency Today's Chanakya, however, predicted that the BJP-led alliance will win 155 seats in the Bihar assembly while the Grand Alliance will win 83 seats.

(With inputs from IANS)