The AP Assembly is likely to meet in February this year to pass the annual 2023-24 budget. Sources say that chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is planning to have the budget session of the Assembly in February and continue it for the first half of March.

Sources further indicate that the chief minister is in favour of having the session for at least 25 working days this time. Besides the presentation of the annual budget and the passing of the appropriation bills, the government is also lining up at least 10 important bills to be cleared by the House during the session.

The ten bills also included one bill relating to the decentralisation of capital, the sources said. The chief minister is firm on having the bills passed and a clear message is sent to the people on his decentralisation plans.

The chief minister is of two minds on having the session from the second half of February to the first half of March or from the first week of March.

The election to the 6 MLC seats from the Assembly quota and two seats from the local bodies’ quota fell vacant on March 29. The ruling YSR Congress is set to win all the eight seats and the chief minister wants to have the elections to be held when the House is in session.

The election to the MLC seats would also mean falling of the opposition TDP’s strength from 16 in the House to 12 by the end of the session. At the same time, the ruling YSR Congress Party’s strength would go up from 32 to 36 in the 58-member House.

It is to be seen what decision that the chief minister would take on the dates for the budget session, which would have to be notified by the Governor.