New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cited poll data for assembly elections over the decades to assert that the BJP has become people's most preferred choice for governance as its record of retaining power is better than the Congress and other parties.
Speaking at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, he said not any leader but "team spirit" should be credited for the party's big win in the recent assembly polls, noting that besides winning in three states it has also grown in strength in Telangana and Mizoram, sources said.
The prime minister also asked party leaders to use the language preferred by the masses in their interaction with them. While giving an example, he said they should use "Modi ki guarantee" instead of "Modi ji ki guarantee".
Quoting PM Modi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters that the Congress faced assembly polls 40 times while in power for one term in those states and could win only seven of them, having a dismal success rate of 18 per cent.
The corresponding figures for the BJP is 22 out of 39 times, a success rate of 56 per cent, PM Modi noted.
Regional parties have fared better than the Congress but not the BJP as they won 18 of 36 times when in power, notching up a success rate of 50 per cent.
It shows that the BJP is the most preferred party for running the government, he said.
In case of a party in power in a state for two terms facing assembly elections, the Congress' success rate is only 14 per cent compared to the BJP's 59 per cent, he added.
The prime minister reiterated that the four biggest "castes" for him are the poor, youth, women and farmers, and party leaders should work for their development. He asked MPs to take part in "Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra", a government exercise aimed at saturation coverage of various welfare schemes.
Earlier, PM Modi was given a standing ovation at the meeting following the party's stupendous win in three assembly polls.
Party MPs raised slogans lauding his leadership as senior leaders, including BJP president J P Nadda, felicitated PM Modi at the first meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party in Parliament's Winter Session.
The BJP scored a thumping win over the Congress in the assembly polls to three states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
PM Modi's leadership has been cited as the primary reason for its big win.
The Congress snatched power from the BRS in Telangana where the BJP's vote share and tally rose.
The BJP Parliamentary Party, which includes all its Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, generally meets every week during sessions.
In the meetings, its leaders, including PM Modi, speak on different issues germane to the agenda in Parliament and also to its organisational and political campaigns.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)