• The opposition Indian National Congress (INC) party is slated to hold a statewide protest in Maharashtra on June 16. The exact timing and location of the protests remain unannounced, as of writing.   
• Earlier, the protest action was slated for June 12. However, due to the recent plane crash in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on June 12, the INC decided to postpone the protest to June 16 after the three-day mourning period.  
• The protests are part of the INC’s statewide awareness campaign denouncing alleged vote rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, to demand answers from the State Election Commission (SEC) about the alleged rigging and warn of a similar possibility in upcoming local body elections of Maharashtra. 

1. The attendance at the slated statewide protest is likely to vary based on the location. In major urban centers such as Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, and Nagpur, participation is likely to reach between the high dozens to low hundreds based on the mobilizing capabilities of the INC. In comparison, the other cities are expected to witness participation ranging in the mid dozens. While the locations of the protests remain unannounced, the potential protest locations include government buildings and public areas such as the State Election Commission offices, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai, and government buildings across the state.
2. Anticipating this, the authorities are likely to bolster security measures in the vicinity of the potential protest locations, particularly in the vicinity of government buildings, due to the sensitive nature of the locations and as part of the standard security protocol. These measures are likely to include police deployment and placement of barricades to monitor the proceedings.
3. A latent risk of scuffles between the police and the protesters remains if the protesters engage in disruptive behavior such as breaching security protocols, blocking major throughfares, and proactive sloganeering. The authorities are liable to employ forcible dispersal measures to quell the unrest, including baton charges and temporary detention, in such scenarios. Disruptions to pedestrian and vehicular travel are expected in the vicinity of the aforementioned locations during the protest hours on June 16.

Those operating or residing in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, on June 16 are advised to maintain vigilance in the vicinity of the aforementioned locations due to the slated statewide demonstrations and associated security measures, while allotting for travel disruptions.