It is raining resignations in Rajasthan BJP

Jaipur, Nov 13 (IANS) The release of the first list of BJP candidates for the Rajasthan Assembly elections has triggered a flurry of resignations in the party as many prominent names have failed to get ticket to contest.

State Minister Surendra Goyal has sent a curt resignation letter to Rajasthan party President Madanlal Saini saying he was resigning from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has been a five-time MLA for BJP.

He has said he will contest the upcoming election as an Independent from Jaitaran seat.

Habibur Rehman, an MLA from Nagaur, has also quit the party. He is expected to join the Congress.

Kuldeep Dhankhar, a former General Secretary of the BJP, also quit after he was overlooked or the election on Monday.

According to him, he might contest as an Independent from Virat Nagar and insisted that the candidate chosen by the BJP in his place was a bad choice.

The names of Health Minister Kali Charan Saraf, Transport Minister Yunus Khan and Industries Minister Rajpal Singh Shekhawat are also missing from the list of candidates and speculation is rife that they too can desert the BJP.

Meanwhile, Avinash Rai Khanna, the BJP's election in charge of Rajasthan, told IANS that the party was doing all it can to end the dissidence.

"We are in the process of talking to the dissidents. Our leaders are trying to meet them and talk to them. We won't allow any of them to leave the party," he said.

Asked why no Muslim had been fielded, he said: "Our next list is pending and we shall speak on this issue once the list is out."

The supporters of dissidents have been reaching the BJP headquarters here in large numbers to express their anguish over the decisions of the party.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said: "We shall sit together to fight such dissidence."