ENS

Bangalore, Apr 8: BJP state president Sadananda Gowda on Sunday asserted that his party would not give tickets to goondas and land mafia elements to contest the Assembly elections. ''Though goondas and land mafia elements are present in almost all parties, BJP is an exception. We will prove it in this election,'' Gowda told reporters after participating in a function to celebrate the party's founding day.

The party would give tickets to good and able persons in accordance with its policy and ideology. ''Let alone giving tickets to goondas and land mafia; they won't be allowed even to participate in the party activities. It is not possible to give tickets to every one who accepts BJP's policies and ideology,'' he said.

Recalling the birth of BJP, he said that for breaking out of Janata Party it had to take the form of an independent party in national interest. It had been progressing on in the same path. The administration provided by Atal Behari Vajpayee was a model for others. He claimed that only BJP could provide a stable government in the state and people were convinced about the need to bring it to power.