Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that 400 days remained until the next general election and asked the BJP to reach out to all sections of society irrespective of who they voted for, prompting the party to suggest that he spoke like a “statesman” rather than a “political leader”.

“We have 400 days until the next election. We should use these 400 days to serve the voters and reach out to every section of society,” Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis quoted Modi as saying at the BJP national executive meeting.

Counting from Tuesday, the 400 days end on February 21 next year. The last Lok Sabha polls were held in April-May 2019.

Modi asked the party to focus particularly on voters aged 18 to 25, stressing that they were unaware of the “anachar, durachar aur brashtachar (malpractices and corruption)” that marked past governments and the change to “sushasan (good governance)” on his watch.

“We have to make them (youth) aware of the transformation and make them part of the new democratic process and good governance,” the Prime Minister was quoted as saying. Modi had in the past too stressed the need to court the youth and first-time voters.

Fadnavis said the Prime Minister had dwelt only briefly on the upcoming Assembly polls and next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

“Everybody expected the Prime Minister to talk about the upcoming polls but there was nothing significant (about elections in his speech). He focused on reaching out to every section of society without bothering about elections,” Fadnavis told reporters.

“That’s why I told you that the Prime Minister spoke not like a political leader but like a statesman.” At the last national executive in Hyderabad, Modi had asked the party to reach out to the backward segments (Pasmandas) among Muslims.

Asked about this, Fadnavis said the Prime Minister had not named any specific community this time but urged the party to reach out to all, even those that didn’t vote for the BJP. “He asked us to reach out to each and every section of society, particularly the marginalised sections, without bothering about whether or not they vote for us. He told us that those who make resolutions create history,” Fadnavis said.

Party president J.P. Nadda had on Monday — the opening day of the conclave — exhorted the party to pull up its socks and ensure it didn’t lose any of the nine Assembly polls this year that he said would set the stage for the general election.

Fadnavis said Modi had told party leaders that India’s “sarvottam kaal (best period)” was approaching and urged them to dedicate “every moment of their lives” and “each body molecule” to “India’s development story”.