While Swaraj still has to decide where she would like to stand from, the omission of Shekhawat's name has led to speculation that he might change his seat.

In the first list of 114 candidates for Rajasthan (of a total of 200), 63 sitting MLAs have been given tickets while eight have been dropped. Earlier, it was said that the BJP leadership was keen to make large-scale changes in order to overcome the incumbency factor but came up against strong opposition to the idea.

Also releasing the first list of 50 candidates out of Delhi's 70 seats, party general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu said that Sahib Singh Verma and Madan Lal Khurana -- bothformer chief ministers who vacated their posts reluctantly -- would contest. Neither was present at today's CEC meeting, though Sushma Swaraj and state unit president Mange Ram Garg attended. Prime Minister Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani were at the meeting.

Swaraj's seat was not announced either, since she still has to make up her mind which seat she would like to contest. She said today that she would contest from one of the South Delhi seats. Since all of them currently have sitting BJP MLAs, one will have to make way for her. Eight sitting MLAs have been replaced in the first list, while 35 have been renominated. All the ministers have been renominated.

Some seats are to be given to the Akali Dal and Haryana Lok Dal and discussions are still on, according to Naidu. The Shiv Sena, which was angling for at least one seat in Delhi, is not likely to be obliged and is expected to put up its own candidates against the BJP not only in Delhi but Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as well.

Naidu said theCEC would meet again tomorrow and finalise as many of the remaining seats in Delhi, Rajasthan and MP as possible. The names of some candidates were being held back for ``tactical reasons'', he claimed, indicating that the party would wait until the Congress announced its candidates.

In Rajasthan, the BJP has nominated only four women candidates in the first list, while 56 are SC/STs or OBCs. One Sikh and two Muslim candidates are also being fielded.