A meeting of the potential members could take place in the next four months. Patil said he had received "overwhelming response" from progressive states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Patil first mooted this idea at the recent conference of state finance ministers at Thiruvananthpuram to discuss strategies while representing the case of the states before the 13th Finance Commission.
Admission to this group will be on the basis of the performance of the state in areas like the Human Development Index, investment, law and order handling, infrastructure and so on. The club will act as a pressure group as progressive states need more funds for their developmental needs.
Viewed against the backdrop of Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, this could become another way of differentiating Brand Maharashtra from states like Uttar Pradesh, giving rise to another possible controversy.
"We are still evolving the criteria for the admission to this forum and hope to complete the exercise in the next three to four months, after which a consultation paper will be sent to all states on the formation of the forum, which will rank the states on the basis of their performance in various fields," Patil said.
"All states are free to join the forum