Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Tuesday addressed a congregation of party workers in Madhya Pradesh, which is set to go to the polls later this year.

In a show of strength at the “Karyakarta Mahakumbh” in Bhopal, Modi described vote-bank politics as a termite that has damaged India. He also criticised the Congress for being a burden on the country and hampering its growth.

Saving the country from vote-bank politics is the BJP’s primary aim, the prime minister added. “Those promoting vote-bank politics did not care about the development and were only interested in retaining power,” he said. “This has been one of the reasons for the country’s slow progress.”

The prime minister accused the Congress of neglecting Madhya Pradesh. “What we did in the past few years in Madhya Pradesh, Congress could have also managed,” he said. “But they were busy trying to retain power.”

He asked the Opposition party to introspect on its electoral losses, and questioned why it failed to forge alliances with other parties.

In his address, Amit Shah said the BJP works for development and not votes. He said the Congress was under an illusion that it is capable of winning elections. “We have made governments where we were in minority,” he said, adding that the party would win both the Assembly polls and the Lok Sabha elections.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan agreed with Shah and said the party’s aim was to win all parliamentary seats in the state. The chief minister described Rahul Gandhi as a “fun machine”. The Congress president had called him an “announcement machine” during a public meeting in the state last week.

“Announcements can only be made by those who are determined to take Madhya Pradesh to the top of the charts,” said Chouhan.