Cong Decision On Gujarat Likely Today

Gujarat PCC president Prabodh Rawal and legislature party leader Amarsinh Chaudhury had two brief meetings with Kesari yesterday. Kesari, who is too busy with the UP developments, told the the Gujarat leaders to put off their departure for Ahmedabad by a day so that he could take his colleagues also into confidence about support to Vaghela.

The Gujarat leaders discounted any hitch in the high command agreeing to the earlier tacit understanding for support to a non-BJP government in the state. After the formal clearance from the party chief, a meeting of the state Congress legislature party is expected to be called on Saturday.

After this, the Congress legislature party leader will meet the Governor to convey the partys support to Vaghela, facilitating the swearing-in by Dusshera. Congress circles say that installation of a non-BJP government in Gujarat is in the interests of the party.

There has been an informal understanding in this regard even during the Vaghela revolt in October last year when Narasimha Rao was the Congress chief. Later both the state leadership and the central leaders have been keen on supporting the Vaghela government without joining it. In Gandhinagar, Mahagujarat Janata Party leader Dilip Parikh told newsmen that he met Governor Krishnapal Singh yesterday. The latter asked him to submit a list of the MJP supporters so that he could satisfy himself about the Vaghela groups claims of support. Parikh, however, declined to divulge the names of his supporters.