The Congress on Friday said that it has received official proposals from Bharatiya Janata Party dissidents in Gujarat, including former chief minister Suresh Mehta and 15 MLAs, who want to join the party. The Congress leadership in the state will take a decision in a couple of days.
"We will hold discussions with the BJP dissidents within the next two days and work out a formula and modus operandi," Union Minister and senior Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela said in New Delhi on Friday.
Vaghela said nearly 10-15 MLAs, office bearers and state ministers had sent an 'official proposal' to the Congress. The group also included Mehta and BJP MPs Soma Bhai Patel, Vallabhai Kathiria and A K Patel.
"We would sit together - three from their side and three from the Congress party - and work out the modus operandi for the polls and see what we expect from each other," he added.
On whether the BJP dissidents would be given election tickets, Vaghela said that the decision rests on the party and depends on the "winning chances of these people."
Vaghela met some of the BJP dissidents earlier in Gujarat and said he would hold another meeting with them in Ahmedabad later in the evening.
Vaghela, who had come under attack over reportedly questioning the effectiveness of All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's campaigning in Gujarat, said it was up to the AICC to decide Rahul's role in the state polls.