Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde Announces Diwali Bonus For BMC Workers Before MCC

Maharashtra CM Shinde announced a Diwali bonus for BMC employees before the Model Code of Conduct. The announcement comes ahead of the Maharashtra Election 2024's schedule announcement when the MCC will be enforced.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a Diwali bonus of ₹28,000 for employees of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ahead of the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The decision follows a demand from the Municipal Mazdoor Sangh, led by MP Ramdash Athawale, which had sought a ₹40,000 bonus for the workers.

According to a report by Mid-day, the union had requested the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and Municipal Commissioner to approve an ex gratia bonus for the employees. The announcement comes just before the Election Commission of India's schedule for the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, which invokes the implementation of the MCC.

Last year, on November 8, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a Diwali bonus of ₹26,000 for BMC employees. This year, Diwali will be celebrated from November 10 to 15.

The Election Commission has declared that voting for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will take place in a single phase on November 20, with counting scheduled for November 23, when the results will also be announced.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar highlighted that Maharashtra has 9.63 crore voters, including 4.97 crore men, 4.66 crore women, and 20.93 lakh first-time voters. The state comprises 36 districts and a total of 299 assembly seats, including 234 general seats, 25 reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and 29 for Scheduled Castes.

Maharashtra Assembly Election Schedule 2024

Poll Events	Dates
Date of Issue of Gazette Notification	22.10.2024 (Tuesday)
Nomination deadline	29.10.2024 (Tuesday)
Nomination Scrutiny	30.10.2024 (Wednesday)
Last date to withdraw nominations	04.11.2024 (Monday)
Date of Voting	20.11.2024 (Wednesday)
Date of Counting and Results Announcement	23.11.2024 (Saturday)

The upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections are highly anticipated due to significant political changes in the past five years. In the 2019 elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, comprising the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Shiv Sena, emerged victorious. Uddhav Thackeray, the then-leader of the undivided Shiv Sena, took on the role of Chief Minister.

(Inputs By Vaibhav Parab)