New Delhi, May 26 : Narendra Modi still remains the first choice for the Prime Minister's post even after nine years in power, as more than 48 per cent respondents of a survey feel that he is the most suitable candidate for the top post. Modi is followed by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi with 18 per cent respondents backing him. This was disclosed during an exclusive pan-India survey conducted by CVoter to mark nine years of the BJP-led government. Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on May 26, 2014 after he led the BJP to a historic majority of 282 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. The survey said that 48.68 per cent respondents find Modi as the most suitable candidate for the post of Prime Minister, followed by 18.12 per cent respondents backing Rahul Gandhi. As per the survey, 5.43 per cent of the respondents find Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Yogi Adityanath as the most suitable candidate for the PM's post, followed by Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal at 4.96 per cent, and West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee at 2.33 per cent. Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, who is leading the efforts to forge opposition unity ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls, has found the support of only 1.09 per cent respondents as the most suitable candidate for the top post. However, the survey showed that Modi's popularity has taken a hit in the last five years. In 2019, 60.76 per cent respondents backed him the as most suitable candidate for the PM's post, which increased to 62.21 per cent in 2020. However, in 2021, 41.96 per cent backed him for the PM's post, which increased to 50.77 per cent in 2022. On the other hand, the popularity of Rahul Gandhi has increased in the last five years. In 2019, 16.78 per cent respondents found him as the most suitable candidate for the top post, which took a blow in 2020 as only 8.36 per cent backed the Congress leader. However, in 2021, Rahul Gandhi's popularity increased once again to 12.29 per cent before coming down to 10.88 per cent in 2022. In the latest survey, 18 per cent respondents have backed the Congress leader for the top post. /IANS