Bihar Election Phase 2 voting on November 11: Banks in THESE districts will remain closed today; check complete list here

Today, November 11, 2025, several districts in Bihar will experience a bank holiday in observance of the second phase of the state assembly elections. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has designated this day as a holiday for banking operations in the regions where the elections are taking place. This is in line with the RBI's usual practice of declaring state-specific holidays for events such as elections, festivals, and regional observances.

Affected Districts

The second phase of polling will be conducted across 122 assembly constituencies in 20 districts of Bihar. The districts where banks will remain closed today are:

• Pashchim Champaran
• Purvi Champaran
• Sheohar
• Sitamarhi
• Madhubani
• Supaul
• Araria
• Kishanganj
• Purnia
• Katihar
• Bhagalpur
• Banka
• Jamui
• Nawada
• Gaya
• Jahanabad
• Arwal
• Aurangabad
• Rohtas
• Kaimur

In these regions, people will be casting their votes today, and as a result, banks will remain closed in these areas to allow staff to focus on the election process and ensure smooth voting operations.

Phase 1 Recap

This is the second phase of polling, following the first phase held on November 6, 2025, which covered 121 assembly constituencies. The state is conducting elections for a total of 243 assembly segments. Voters in the second phase districts will head to the polls today, while the first phase constituencies have already voted.

Vote Counting on November 14

After all phases of voting are completed, the vote counting for the entire state will take place on November 14, 2025. Results will determine the composition of the new Bihar Legislative Assembly.

Bank Holidays and RBI’s Guidelines

Bank holidays are generally determined based on the RBI's official holiday calendar. These holidays are categorised into three distinct types:

Holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act – These are holidays when banks are closed to the public, and transactions involving negotiable instruments are not processed.

Holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Holiday. These holidays impact both negotiable instruments and the RTGS system, which is used for high-value real-time transactions.

Banks’ Closing of Accounts – These holidays occur at the end of the financial year or when banks need to reconcile their accounts.

However, it’s important to note that holidays declared by the RBI may vary by region. While the RBI officially declares holidays in its calendar, states also have the authority to announce additional holidays for region-specific events. This means that in some states, banks may remain closed for festivals, elections, or other local observances.

As today’s polling progresses in Bihar, the closure of banks in the designated districts is a standard procedure aligned with the election schedule. Banking operations in these areas will resume after the elections conclude, with the next major date being the vote counting on November 14, 2025.

For residents in these districts, it's advisable to plan banking activities around the holiday to avoid any inconvenience.