Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Public Holiday Today - Check What's Open, What's Closed

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 are scheduled for today, November 20 and are being held in a single phase unlike the Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024 that are being held in two phases. An announcement for the closure of schools and banks among other announcements has been made. Read to know what's open and what's closed in Maharashtra on voting day.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Public Holiday on Nov 20

The elections are being held in a single phase in Maharashtra today, on November 20 for which educational institutions have been shut, banks have been closed and dry days have also been announced. In view of these elections, the Maharashtra government has announced a public holiday which means the offices will also remain closed on the day of voting.

Maharashtra Elections: What's Open, What's Closed Today

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: What's Open on November 20

On the day of Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, i.e. November 20, here's all that will remain open - 

• All emergency services including fire services, hospitals and police stations among others will remain open. 
• Malls and markets will also remain open for most part of the day.
• People will also be able to visit restaurants and hotels as they will function as usual.
• Public transport will also be available for the locals.
• Mumbai Metro will be open and functional for use by the Mumbaikars.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: What's Closed on November 20

Schools Closed on November 20: All schools and educational institutions will remain closed on November 20 as a national holiday has been declared for the day. While initially there were reports that schools will also remain shut on November 18-19, but the government has clarified that schools will function as usual on these days.

Banks Closed on November 20: According to the Reserve Bank of India's holiday list, banks in Maharashtra will remain closed on November 20 due to the Assembly General Election 2024.

Alcohol Shops Closed on November 20: A list of dry days have been announced for the state in accordance with the code of the Election Commission. On these dry days, alcohol will be prohibited and there will be no sale at all, to ensure a smooth election process - no alcohol will be available from after 6:00 pm on November 18 to 6:00 pm on November 20. A dry day will also be observed on November 23 till 6:00 pm as the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 Results will be announced on that day.

Stock Markets Closed on November 20: All the stock exchanges in Mumbai including the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) will remain shut on election day and therefore there will be no trading tomorrow.

Offices Closed on November 20: As a public holiday has been declared by the Maharashtra government, all the government offices in the state will remain closed on November 20. A 4-hour window to vote will be given to the emergency workers and a paid leave has been granted to the private-sector employees in Mumbai by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Candidates, Constituencies and More

The Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 will be held on November 20, 2024. A total of 4,136 candidates are in the fray for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections, a rise of 27.7 per cent over the number five years ago.

There are as many as 2,086 independent contenders among them. The Election Commission on Thursday made available the final figures of each party's candidates after withdrawals and rejections at the scrutiny stage even as campaigning is underway in full swing. The political landscape is quite fragmented with the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party splitting up in the last two years. The assembly has a total of 288 seats.

Of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) has fielded 149 candidates, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde -led Shiv Sena has fielded 81 candidates, and deputy CM Ajit Pawar -led NCP has fielded 59. In the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray has 95 candidates in the fray and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) has 86 candidates.

In some constituencies, there would be friendly fights between allies. Of smaller parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded 237 candidates and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has 17 candidates in the fray.

(Inputs from PTI)