Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed confidence that under Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party will perform better than 2014 polls because the Prime Minister has received more support this time than in the last edition of the parliamentary elections.

Yogi also said that West Bengal, which witnessed “Trinamool Congress-sponsored violence” during the elections, would also give surprising results as the voters here would give a befitting reply to the people who tried to defame democracy.

Talking to reporters after casting his vote at the booth inside the Gorakshnath temple in Gorakhpur on Sunday, Yogi Adityanath said that there could be political opposition but everyone should unite to strengthen democracy and this could be possible only through peaceful polling.

Yogi, who was among the early voters to exercise his franchise at the booth just after 7 am, thanked the people of UP for the peaceful election.

“In this election, for the first time after Independence, caste, creed, communal and regional issues were sidelined and development and country’s security and integrity took the centre stage,” Yogi said and added that this election revolved around Narendra Modi as the opposition kept denigrating the Prime Minister while the BJP went to the voters with its report card.

Claiming that there was no doubt that Narendra Modi would get his second term with a landslide victory on May 23, Yogi said the target to win 300+ seats for BJP and 400+ seats for the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) would be achieved while in UP the party would win 74+ seats.

When asked about Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu’s visit to Lucknow to hold talks with Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over opposition unity, Yogi said, “Naidu could not save Andhra Pradesh... he has failed and is now meeting other failed people.”

“Wait for May 23... everything will be clear by Thursday noon,” he added.