Panaji, Feb 19 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday publicly apologised for not fielding a single woman candidate for the forthcoming March 3 polls in Goa.

Replying to a question from a woman mediaperson here about the absence of women party candidates in the 28 constituencies that the BJP is contesting, former chief minister Manohar Parrikar said: "I can only say sorry. We could not find a right candidate... That's why the BJP supports 33 percent reservation for women in elections."

Parrikar said political strategising in Goa often runs late into the night and that could have deterred the chances of women from being part of the candidate list.

Nationally, the BJP has been campaigning aggressively for implementing 33 percent reservation for women in parliament and other state legislative bodies.

BJP is contesting 28 out of the 40 seats up for grabs in the state legislative assembly elections, while seven seats are being contested by its alliance partner Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

Both alliance partners will support independent candidates in the remaining constituencies, which includes Nirmala Sawant in the Cumbharjua assembly segment.