India, Jan. 16 -- In a bid to prevent bogus voting and distribution of bribe money to voters, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS posted squads of party workers throughout the city to prevent alleged malpractices in the BMC elections. Called bhagva (saffron) guards, the workers wore saffron t-shirts with 'Bhagva Guard' appended to slogans like 'Mee Marathi' or 'Mumbai Thackerayanchich' (Mumbai belongs to the Thackerays), and functioned as vigilante squads in the days leading up to the election as well.

In many places, there were skirmishes between the bhagwa guards and ruling party workers or the police. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that any such "attempts to create trouble" would be dealt with strongly by the police. In Borivali, some ...