New Delhi:
The Winter session of Parliament is expected to be held between November 26 to December 21 in the midst of Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.
While no formal decision has been taken, government sources said there was not much scope for advancing or postponing the month-long session which generally starts in the third week of November.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is expected to have informal consultations within the government and with various political parties over the schedule of the winter session in view of the polls.
Himachal Pradesh goes to polls on November 4, while elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 13 and 17. Counting in both the states will be held on December 20.
The Winter session is considered significant as Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee, after moving out of UPA, is threatening to bring a no-confidence motion against the Congress-led government at the Centre.
The session also attains significance due to the response of various political parties to the recent big ticket reforms initiated by the government, including FDI in pension sector and raising the FDI limit in insurance sector.
The government is facing resistance from some of its present and former allies and the Opposition over its FDI decisions and other economic reform measures. The response of The BJP, which boycotted almost the entire last session, is also eagerly awaited.