Have old association with Mathura, says Hema Malini

New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) Bollywood actress Hema Malini, who is making her maiden foray in the Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate from Mathura, Saturday said her association with the holy land of Lord Krishna is almost two decades old.

"I have been associated with Mathura for almost 20 years. Whenever I come to Delhi, I always go to Mathura and Varanasi. I am a devotee of Lord Krishna, so when BJP asked me to contest from Mathura, I was very happy," said the 65-year-old actress at a press conference here.

"If I win, with the grace of Lord Krishna, I would clean river Yamuna. There are many things to be done in Mathura, and cleanliness is another issue I would like to address," she added.

Dressed in a white sari, the "Dream Girl" emphasised on the need to clean rivers for balancing the ecosystem.

In Mathura, Hema is pitted against Rashtriya Lok Dal's (RLD) general secretary Jayant Chaudhary, the son of party chief Ajit Singh.

The actress, who has given memorable performances in movies like "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta", "Satte pe Satta" and "Baghban" was also member of the Rajya Sabha between 2003 and 2009.

Her husband, Bollywood actor Dharmendra, too has been actively involved in politics, serving a term in the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-09) after being elected from Rajasthan's Bikaner on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket.

In the past, the actress has campaigned for fellow Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna, but she refused to share any details about her campaigning plans.

"This is all I have to say about my plans for Mathura," she said.