NEW DELHI : If you are in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur or anywhere in Maharashtra and Haryana, keep in mind that bank branches could be open only for three days this week due to assembly elections, bank strike and other bank holidays. In other parts of India, banking operations are likely to be affected only on Tuesday.

If you are in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur or anywhere in Maharashtra and Haryana, keep in mind that bank branches could be open only for three days this week due to assembly elections, bank strike and other bank holidays. In other parts of India, banking operations are likely to be affected only on Tuesday.

Assembly elections

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After today, banks will open on Monday everywhere in the country but not in Maharashtra and Haryana, the two states which go to polls on October 21. According to the Election Commission's rules, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has declared bank holidays in the two states on the day of voting.

Banks in the union territory of Chandigarh, which serves as the capital of both Haryana and Punjab, will be open on Monday.

Bank strike

On Tuesday, two bank unions -- All India Bank Employees Association (AlBEA) and the Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) -- have decided to sit on a nationwide strike to protest against bank mergers. If the strike is successful, banking transactions could be hit all over the country. India's third largest bank, Bank of Baroda, has already warned that the bank strike could hit services at its branches and other offices.

The State Bank of India (SBI) is, however, confident that the impact would be "minimal" on October 22 as only a few of its employees are part of the two protesting unions.

On the next three days of the week till October 25, banking operations will be normal throughout the country.

Bank holidays in the rest of October

Saturday will once again be a holiday as banks are closed on every second and fourth saturdays of the month. Sunday, which co-incides with the Diwali festival, is again a weekly holiday.

Although banks will reopen on Monday in most places, the RBI has declared it a holiday in Mumbai keeping in mind celebrations related to Diwali. Several trading communities also start their new year from the day after Diwali.