JAIPUR: A day after BJP came up with its first list of 131 names for the December 7 elections, protests erupted in several places in the state on Monday, with many of the 21 MLAs threatening to contest as independent candidates after being denied tickets.Five-time MLA and minister in the Vasundhara Raje cabinet Surendra Goyal quit the party as he didn't get nomination. He said he would contest as an independent candidate. Another minister Nandlal Meena was replaced with his son. Three cabinet ministers - Kalicharan Saraf, Rajpal Singh Shekhawat and Yunus Khan - have to wait for the next list to come out. Shekhawat met chief minister Vasundhara Raje at her residence on Monday and he was told to consider changing his seat from Jothwara to Sanganer , both in Jaipur. Shekhawat seemed to be reluctant, though.Goyal's supporters raised slogans outside the BJP headquarters here. "BJP has betrayed someone who was active since Jan Sangh days. I will not buckle under pressure and will contest as independent. The people of my constituency are my strength and they are shocked," Goyal told reporters.Supporters of the disgruntled ministers and MLAs protested against the state leadership for not changing candidates. It was believed that the party would replace at least half of its 160 MLAs due to strong anti-incumbency. "What was the point the surveys done at various levels when their findings - which went against MLAs - were not implemented? Most of the senior leaders had assured us of change," said one of the ticket-seekers on Monday.Many senior leaders said Raje didn't want to replace most of the MLAs and told the party leadership that dropping them would point to the anti-incumbency factor. Most of the MLAs who figured in the list are Raje loyalists, in a clear sign that she had a major say in the selection process.

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