Outcome of Assembly polls in five states will set the tone for the winter session of Parliament beginning on Thursday though the government has listed a heavy legislative agenda and opposition is demanding extension of the 12-day sitting.
While it is still unclear whether a bill for creation of separate Telangana would be brought in the session, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed government's commitment towards the issue.
Opposition has stacked up a lot of ammunition to attack the government and it could be visible from day one as BJP and the Left parties are planning to bring adjournment motions in Lok Sabha on Thursday on the issue of price rise.
The Telangana bill does not figure in the government's list of 38 bills but assurances have been given by the government on expediting it. A Group of Ministers is in the process of finalising the Telangana draft bill which will be cleared by the Union Cabinet before President refers it to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Parliament.
Government has said passage of Women's Reservation Bill and the Lokpal Bill, both of which have been passed by one House and are pending in the other, is high on its agenda.
The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are expected to practically commence from Monday as both the Houses are likely to call it a day on Thursday after paying respects to two sitting members who died in the inter-session period.
Mohan Singh, Rajya Sabha member from SP, and Murarilal Singh, BJP Lok Sabha MP from Sarguja, passed away.
December 6 being the anniversary of the demolition of Babri mosque, it has usually witnessed disruption of proceedings of Parliament since the incident occurred in 1992.
"Much of the tenor of the session would depend on the outcome of the Assembly elections," Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after a meeting of the party's senior MPs.
The demand for extension of the session, which has been gaining ground, would also depend on the results.
While results for Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will be out on Sunday, counting in Mizoram will be held the next day.
Other than price rise and Telangana, BJP wants a debate on the internal security situation in the wake of the Patna rally blasts, "subversion" of constitutional bodies like JPC on 2G spectrum scam, "increasing" atrocities against women and "growing aggression" of China and Pakistan at the borders.
The Left parties want a debate on the communal situation in the country, with special focus on Muzaffarnagar riots, and the economic crisis.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath had called an all-party meeting to discuss the issues. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar too held an all-party meeting to ensure smooth functioning of the Lower House.
Government also wants to pass Supplementary Demands for Grants for the budget and for Railways.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram is likely to meet the two Leaders of the Opposition to evolve consensus on increasing the FDI cap from 26 to 49 per cent in Insurance sector and the Direct Tax Code Bill.
While Congress and its allies are likely to target the BJP and its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on the snooping row, the main opposition is set to counter it by questioning the ruling party's "silence" on Tarun Tejpal case.
