Nitish Kumar's Grand Alliance will sweep Bihar elections: Katju

Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Markandey Katju on Saturday said the Grand Alliance headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will "sweep the (ongoing assembly) polls in Bihar by at least a two third majority".

"The Nitish-Lalu alliance will not just win by a narrow margin, as predicted by the satta (punters) dealers but will sweep the polls in Bihar by at least a two third majority," the former Press Council of India chairman wrote in a Facebook post.

He predicted that following the BJP's debacle in the polls, "Modi's fortune will decline rapidly".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the campaign trail for the BJP-led NDA in the state assembly polls. The NDA includes Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP).

"There was really nothing in the man (Modi) in the first place, except his capacity to befool people, particularly the gullible youth who were carried away by his magic slogan called 'vikas'," he added.

He claimed that Modi's popularity had taken a dip since he took to power in May, 2014.

"Already he has become very unpopular. With 'dal' selling at Rs.200 a kilo and unemployment rising, only the hardcore right wing upper caste Hindus remain his supporters," Justice Katju concluded.

The Grand Alliance -- Mahagathbandhan -- also includes Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.

The voting for the fourth of the five-phase elections would be held on November 1. The counting of the votes is scheduled for November 8.