Thursday, May 5 2005 22:29 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Panaji: Declaring that by-polls in Goa were of national importance to BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) in spite of the fact that the elections themselves would be localised, party general secretary Pramod Mahajan today (May 5, 2005) said there was no hard and fast rule that only party cadres would be given tickets.

Mahajan, who arrived today to work out details of ticket allocation and poll preparations to five Assembly seats in the State on June 2, said the party would contest all five seats and that the central election committee would meet in Delhi on May 10 to finalise the candidates.

"Although the candidates will be predominantly from the party cadre, there is no hard and fast rule about this. While the winnability will be an important factor, keeping in mind our past experiences, the person's loyalty to the party will be far more important," he said.

Mahajan said BJP would raise the "cruxification" of the erstwhile Manohar Parrikar Government as a main issue in the polls, adding "it was a conspiracy hatched at the Centre by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) the day it came to power."