Maharashtra Assembly Elections: No Sale of Alcohol as Govt Announces Dry Days - Check List

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 are round the corner and ahead of the polls, a school holiday has been declared for November 20 and the Maharashtra government has also announced a list of dry days for the state, in accordance with the guidelines and code of the Election Commission of India. Here's all you need to know…

Maharashtra Elections: List of Dry Days

Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 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.

List of dry days announced in Maharashtra capital Mumbai and other cities -

• November 18 - No alcohol will be prohibited from after 6:00 pm.
• November 19 - A complete dry day will be observed today.
• November 20 - Sale of alcohol will remain prohibited till 6:00 pm on election day.
• November 23 - Alcohol prohibition will remain in place till 6:00 pm as the election results will be announced on this day.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: School Holiday Declared

The Maharashtra government has declared a public holiday on November 20 and therefore, all schools and educational institutions will also remain closed on November 20. 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.

Maharashtra Banks Closed for Assembly Elections?

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.

Notably, while physical bank branches in designated states will remain closed, customers will still be able to access financial services through ATMs, digital banking, and UPI platforms. For urgent banking needs, online transactions remain operational, ensuring that services are available even on holidays.

Maharashtra Assembly Polls: Key Constituencies, Other Details

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)