Ahead of the assembly elections, political parties are viewing the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank fiasco as a way to cash in on the votebank. Both BJP and Congress leaders are demanding increased withdrawal limits for thousands of account holders of the bank. Following customer backlash, RBI on Thursday raised the withdrawal limit from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 in six months.

Account-holders of PMC Bank have been visiting the banks almost every day. There are long queues seen outside the banks, with people waiting to withdraw Rs 10,000. Some customers, however, had to return emptyhanded after the banks ran out of cash, PMC officials said on Friday.