Will BSE and NSE Be Closed on January 15 as Maharashtra Declares Civic Poll Holiday?

The Maharashtra government, on January 7, 2026, declared January 15, 2026, a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act (NI Act) to facilitate the conduct of local body elections in the state. This holiday will apply to 29 municipal corporations, including the Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts, which fall under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The notification has been issued under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, with powers delegated to the state government through a Ministry of Home Affairs notification dating back to 1968. The move is aimed at ensuring smooth polling for civic elections scheduled for January 15, with the counting of votes slated for January 16.

Among the civic bodies headed for polls is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which governs India’s financial capital and is considered one of the country’s most politically influential urban institutions. The BMC also oversees a sizeable annual budget of over Rs 74,000 crore. In total, elections will be held for the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations across Maharashtra on January 15.

What about the stock market? While the holiday notification settles administrative arrangements, uncertainty continues over banking and financial market operations on that day. The stock exchanges have yet to issue any clarification, and neither the BSE nor the NSE has declared January 15 a trading holiday. This is particularly significant because the date coincides with the weekly expiry of Sensex derivatives. No official circular on market closure has been released so far, and January 15, 2026, does not appear as a holiday in the current exchange calendars. The Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) has also not marked the day as a trading holiday.

As of now, the Reserve Bank of India has not issued any communication on whether banks will remain open or closed on January 15, 2026. Traditionally, RBI-regulated markets—such as government securities, the call money market, triparty repo, and foreign exchange—remain shut on days notified as holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

Separately, February 1, which is expected to be Budget Day, is likely to see normal trading activity, with the BSE and NSE expected to remain open, according to several media reports.