Diwali has come earlier for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) employees as the government on Tuesday announced a bonus of Rs 29,000 for the employees of the civic body. Last year, the BMC employees received Rs 26,000 as Diwali bonus.

The bonus announcement for around one lakh employees of the BMC came just ahead of the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) announcement of dates and the Model Code of Conduct for the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The ECI announced on Tuesday at 3.30 pm that the Assembly elections will be held on November 20 and counting will take place on November 23.