Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath slams stock market holiday for local municipal elections; Netizens counter him

Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath on Thursday, January 15, criticised the decision to shut Indian stock exchanges for Mumbai’s municipal corporation elections, calling it an example of “poor planning” and a sign of deeper structural issues in market governance.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kamath said closing exchanges that have global linkages for a local civic election reflects a lack of appreciation for second-order effects.

He argued that such disruptions undermine India’s credibility with international investors and questioned why the practice continues despite the country’s ambitions to position itself as a serious global financial market.

Citing the late Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner, Kamath said the persistence of such holidays exists because there is little incentive for stakeholders to challenge the status quo. He further said that this mindset partly explains why global investors may still hesitate to take Indian markets as seriously as their counterparts elsewhere.

“The holiday exists because no one who matters has any incentive to oppose the market holiday. It also tells you how far we have to go before global investors take us seriously,” he added.

Indian stock exchanges are closed today for Mumbai's municipal elections.

The fact that our exchanges, which have international linkages, are shut down for a local municipal election shows poor planning and a serious lack of appreciation for second-order effects.

As Munger…

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) January 15, 2026

Both the BSE and NSE remained shut on January 15 due to municipal elections in Maharashtra, in line with long-standing regulations that mandate trading holidays during local polls to enable employees to vote.

Netizens reaction

Kamath’s remarks sparked a sharp response online, with several users pushing back against his criticism and defending the election-day holiday.

“It is compulsory as per govt rules. if you have local elections you will have to give leaves to employees to enable them to vote.. so almost all local govt offices will be closed on the day of election. Its not a new thing,” a user wrote.

“We don’t have online or remote voting facilities yet. Elections are in Mumbai, where NSE and BSE offices are there, they will have to leave work to go and vote as is their right, therefore a holiday. I don’t know why the confusion lol this is common and happens often,” another said.

“Because people need to vote. Believe it or not, people can’t vote when they have office from 9 to 5. And yes, elections and democracy are more important than stock markets and second order effects,” a third noted.