While party circles are agog with speculation that the leadership might decide to change at least three MPs of the dissolved Lok Sabha for various reasons, sources said the consensus might be to field all the 19 winners of last elections.

But State BJP chief Rajendrasinh Rana doesn't risk a discussion beyond saying that ``the central parliamentary board of the party would take a final decision''. He refused to comment when asked if certain MPs of the last Lok Sabha would be changed.

Sources said the leadership was debating over the re-nomination of Jayaben Thakkar from Vadodara, Bhavnaben Dave from Surendranagar and Chandresh Patel from Jamnagar. Thakkar and Dave are considered weak candidates in view of their ``lack-lustre'' performance and inability to create an image in the respective constituencies. While Thakkar could not be contacted, Dave expressed ignorance about any move to change her candidature.

Patel is under fire for his ``failure to carry the party rank and file behind him'', leading to Raghavji Patel of the defunct RJP romping home in the Jodiya Assembly by-election last year. Another grouse is that he has not nursed his constituency properly.

When contacted, Patel said, ``I have offered to field someone else instead of me and will abide by the party's decision. But otherwise, there is no reason for changing me. I have been loyal, non-corrupt, and have nursed my constituency well. I feel others also should get a chance to contest. After all, this is my fourth term.'' Asked if he had suggested any name as an alternative, he said, ``not yet''.

Party sources said Thakkar might prove a weak candidate not only because she was unable to create a public image, but also because of the prospect of Congress fielding Urmila Patel, a former Rajya Sabha member and wife of former Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel. Patel has the experience and has a strong personality to appeal to various sections of people in cosmopolitan Vadodara.

Similarly, Bhavnaben Dave will have a tough contest in the wake of the RJP merging with the Congress. Somabhai Gandabhai Patel of erstwhile RJP represents the powerful Koli Patel lobby in Surendranagar, which would now back the Congress candidate who could either be Patel or Sanat Mehta who lost last time by a narrow margin.