Addressing a press conference here today, Thakre said, ``We cannot expect (our party) women to taken on the mafia fielded by other parties.''

He, however, reiterated his party's commitment to 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and the assemblies, claiming that wherever seats were reserved for women -- as in civic bodies in Gujarat -- the BJP had fielded woman candidates.

Predicting that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance would get absolute majority, Thakre said the nation had no alternative to Vajpayee as prime minister. However, he said he was not happy with the BJP-led coalition's performance in the past 13 months.

``The Congress conspired with other parties to pull down the Vajpayee government'', the BJP vice-president said. ``But unknowingly, it did us a great service. A clear picture has emerged of the major political formations, led by the Congress and the BJP.''

Elaborating, he said that on one hand, there was the Congress -- a party without a leader, a programme or unity -- and on the other was the BJP-led allliance, which had an undisputed leader and an election manifesto seconded by all allies.

Ridiculing Congress president Sonia Gandhi, ``who has not contested even a municipal election'', Thakre alleged that her partymen themselves did not know who would become lead the government if the Congress came to power.

The BJP president claimed that the Vajpayee government had accorded top priority to modernising the army. ``The government has been under pressure from Western powers who do not want India to become strong. But our government, unlike the previous ones, did not succumb to their pressure'', he boasted.

``The steps taken by the Vajpayee government has instilled confidence in our defence forces. We have seen it in Kargil. Our soldier forced the Pak intruders to retreat'', Thakre claimed. ``Though the costs have been high, the BJP-led government has not imposed any new taxes, nor has it clamped emergency. Despite the Kargil war, prices have been stable.''