New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) As the first phase of General Elections began for 102 Lok Sabha constituencies across 21 states and Union territories, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was expecting its best-ever performance in South India in the polls.

The Union Home Minister, speaking exclusively to NDTV, said that he feels that the party was headed for its "best show in Southern states".

"We will have a strong result in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana and Karnataka. On the back of PM Modi's increasing popularity, we will get more votes and seats in South India, for the first time."

He also cited the increase in BJP's vote share between 2014 and 2019 and said that party's outreach in South will help open accounts in some and better vote percentage in others.

His statement echoes popular political perception that the BJP is slated for strong inroads in Southern states including Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The minister also filed his nomination papers from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency on Friday and appealed to the voters to elect the Modi government for a third term.

Speaking to NDTV after filing nominations, the Union Home Minister rejected Congress's charges of receiving "forced" political donations via electoral bonds and said that the grand old party was the biggest beneficiary.

"Concerning Congress and BJP MPs ratio to the Electoral bonds, the former got the highest donations. Congress got about Rs 9,000 crore donations while BJP received just Rs 6,600 crore," he said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ten years of governance remain unblemished and there has not been a single case of corruption. A concerted campaign is being run against him to spread canard and fan false propaganda,” he added.

He also reiterated the government's zero tolerance policy on Maoism.

He slammed Congress for calling the recent Bastar encounter "fake", in which 29 ultras were neutralised by the forces and said, "When Congress government was in power, no action happened on Maoists but our government has cracked down on them.”

“In the third term of Modi dispensation, naxalism will be completely rooted out within one or two years of government formation," he added.

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