Bank holiday today: Banks closed in THESE cities for Lok Sabha elections phase 2

According to the holiday calendar issued by the RBI, the banks will remain shut in the cities of Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Jammu.

Bengaluru, the state capital of Karnataka, has gone to polls along with 13 other constituencies of the state. In neighbouring Kerala, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are among the 20 Lok Sabha seats where elections are being contested. Meanwhile, Jammu is the only seat in the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir where voting is being held today.

Apart from the bank holiday announced by the RBI, some of the states which are going to polls today have declared a public holiday to facilitate higher voter turnout. Schools, colleges, government offices and other institutes will remain closed in these states. Some of the state governments have also asked private firms to grant paid leaves to their employees to allow them to exercise their right to franchise.

State-wise list of seats where Lok Sabha elections are being held today (April 26):

• Rajasthan: Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota, Jhalawar-Baran, Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, and Chittorgarh.

• Kerala: Alappuzha, Mavelikkara, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram, Kasaragod, Kannur, Vatakara, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ponnani, Palakkad, Alathur, Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Idukki, and Kottayam.

• Karnataka: Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South, Chikballapur, Kolar, Udupi Chikamagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, and Chamarajanagar.

• Maharashtra: Yavatmal, Washim, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, and Wardha.

• Uttar Pradesh: Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddha Nagar.

• Madhya Pradesh: Satna, Rewa, Hoshangabad, Betul, Tikamgarh, Damoh, and Khajuraho.

• Chhattisgarh: Mahasamund, Kanker, and Rajnandgaon.

• West Bengal: Balurghat, Raiganj and Darjeeling

• Jammu & Kashmir: Jammu

• Manipur: Outer Manipur

• Bihar: Purnia, Bhagalpur, Kishanganj and Katihar

• Assam: Nawgong, Kaliabor, Karimganj, Silchar and Mangaldoi.

• Tripura: Tripura East

Will stock market remain open today?

The stock market, including the two primary bourses -- the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and the BSE -- will remain open today. Earlier, the NSE had announced that taking activity will remain closed on May 20, when voting is scheduled to be held in Mumbai.

Notably, the Lok Sabha polls are being conducted in seven phases. The next phase, which will be the third round of polls are scheduled on May 7, followed by the fourth phase on May 13 , fifth on May 20, sixth on May 25 and the final phase on June 1. The counting of votes has been scheduled by the Election Commission of India on June 4.