Election Commission is likely to announce its decision about postponing this year's Budget next week.
The Election Commission has sought government's reply on opposition's demand to postpone the Budget, which is set to be presented just three days before five states including Uttar Pradesh start voting on February 4.
Presentation of budget is a legislative exercise and the poll panel can't direct the government to postpone it but only persuade it, EC sources told NDTV, adding that it would be up to the centre then to take a call.
Sources said the poll authority is likely to announce its decision next week after consulting the government.
Earlier this week, opposition parties including the Congress, Trinamool, Samajwadi party, Mayawati's BSP, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and Lalu Yadav's RJD had met the Election Commission together to argue the case for deferring the budget which, they said, would give the government an unfair advantage ahead of the state elections.
Elections will be held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur from February 4 to March 8. Counting of votes will take place on March 11.
Opposition parties say the government can sway voters with populist announcements if the budget is presented as scheduled on February 1.
In 2012, when the same states were up for election, the budget, usually shared on the last working day in February, was moved to mid-March after voting was completed. But this was a decision taken by the Congress-led UPA government.
"There can be no concession to any political party, this is against the constitution and the ideal of democracy. We said that to ensure fair elections, the budget must be deferred to after the election results on March 11," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had said after the meeting.
There has been no precedent of the Election Commission stepping in to announce any change in the budget date.
The ruling BJP says there is no reason to postpone the budget as "every year, some election or the other takes place."
"Even in 2014, the budget was presented before the polls," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley this Wednesday.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had already said that the government would present the Union Budget on February 1 to ensure proposals take effect from April 1.
The first part of the budget session of parliament will start on January 31. The cabinet decided last September to merge the railway budget with the annual budget, ending a nearly century-long practice.