Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government is planning an early budget session with indications of early Lok Sabha polls.

Jharkhand finance minister Rameshwar Oraon informed The Telegraph that after the elections are announced it would not be possible for the respective states to announce their budget.

“The decision will be taken soon but chances are there for the budget session of Jharkhand to be preponed to mid-February with talks of having an early announcement of Lok Sabha polls by the Election Commission of India (ECI),” said Oraon.

State’s parliamentary affairs minister Alamgir Alam said that chief minister Soren will take the final decision on the dates for the budget session 2024-25. “However, we will try to hold it earlier this year,” said Alam.

Officials in the chief minister’s secretariat confided that feelers have been sent from Delhi that there might be declaration of election schedule by the ECI any moment after the Ayodhya Dham consecration ceremony scheduled on January 22. In this case, state government cannot announce their budget due to restriction imposed by poll code of conduct.

Significantly, Jharkhand had been holding its budget session in last week of February with budget being tabled in the first week of March every year.

On Monday, Soren leading a JMM-Congress-RJD alliance government in its fifth year held a review meeting with officials regarding the preparations for the budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the presence of Oraon and other senior bureaucrats.

“In the upcoming budget, the chief minister has directed that special focus should be paid infrastructure, education, sports, industry, health, agriculture, electricity, water, roads, housing scheme and pension amount under social security, scholarship to students studying in schools and colleges,” said a release issued by chief minister’s secretariat.

“The CM has also directed that budget should be made keeping in mind the priorities and aspirations of all the people of Jharkhand with special focus on public welfare and all-round development. Strengthening the rural economy in the state is the priority of the state government,” the release further stated.

“The focus should be on villages, agriculture, farmers and youth, work is being done to reach public welfare schemes to the last mile of these sectors. Emphasize is on increasing the provisions for employment and self-employment in the budget,” Soren told officials.