Bank Holidays, Lok Sabha Election Phase 5 On May 20: Banks In These Cities To Be Closed For 3 Days; List Here!

 Banks in a few cities of India are up for a long weekend, thanks to the commencement of phase 5 polling of Lok Sabha Election 2024. That being said, banks in these cities will be closed on May 18 (Saturday), May 19 (Sunday), and May 20 (Monday). Earlier, RBI notified that banks will be closed during the onset of polling of the election in a phased manner.

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha Election is falling on May 20, Monday, while banks will be closed due to the third Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19 as its defaulted holidays of the month.

On May 20, as part of the Lok Sabha election phases, voting for approximately 695 candidates from 49 constituencies across six states and two Union territories will commence. This will be the fifth leg of polling and will take place in regions such as Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Ladakh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir.

However, it needs to be noted that banks will not be closed throughout India, only a couple of cities which are declared by RBI. The central bank decides holidays for scheduled commercial banks in the country. 

As per RBI, on May 20, banks will be closed in Belapur and the financial hub, Mumbai. 

RBI's holidays are divided into three categories such as -- Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act; Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holidays; and Banks' Closing of Accounts.

Apart from that, the last leg of bank holidays in May 2024 will be on May 23 due to the occasion of Buddha Pournima, and on May 25 due to Nazrul Jayanti/Lok Sabha General Elections phase 6 polling. Notably, May 25th is also the bank's fourth Saturday, which will be a holiday, while they will remain closed on May 26 as well. 

Bank holidays in India 2024, vary from state-to-state and city-to-city.

If you are planning to visit your bank branches this week for any financial transactions, then you might want to note down the dates when they will be closed. 

Digitalisation has made it very easy to carry out banking transactions through mobile phones, ATMs, and the Internet. However, there are still several reasons to visit banks' branches such as transactions related to high amounts beyond maximum limits, foreign exchange transactions, queries and procedures related to accounts in other banks, loan closure or payments, and guidance or help related to bank accounts among others. 

In May, there are a total of 9 special holidays for banks excluding the second and fourth Saturdays and four Sundays. 

As per the latest update by the Election Commission of India, Lok Sabha Elections 2024 has seen the voter turnout at polling stations of about 66.95% so far, as approximately 451 million people have voted during the first four phases of ongoing General Elections. As a part of its outreach to enhance the voter turnout, ECI has introduced an array of various interventions, to appeal and motivate voters to cast their vote, during the ongoing elections. 

According to ECI, a citizen of India can vote only if his or her name appears in the Voter List (also known as the Electoral Roll). Voters can also find information on Polling Booths, Contesting candidates, Election Dates & Timings, Identity cards and EVM.