Oof! Not again! This is the third edition of ‘foreign invasion’ of Bengal! After Bakhtiyar Khalji and Robert Clive here comes the Sakas from the West,” mumbled an old book-seller at the historical College Street insisting, “Bengal had never seen this bizarre trend. Not even during naxal period which was a war of ideology. This is dirty dogfight between goons for control of power.”

A bearded professor, a regular at Indian Coffee House concedes and added, “Mamata Banerjee is responsible for this all. She only through her semi-communal politics invited these scalawags.” Now Bengal would suffer for eternity and “all our revolutionary history will be torn into pieces,” he rues wondering “what will our future generation imbibe.” He trails off reminding “politics is the last resort of scoundrels.”

As the professor scurries inside the historical Albert Hall a free-for-all ensues with hundreds of saffron workers trying to force their way into the Calcutta University pelting bottles and stones at a band of Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad workers raising “Amit Shah Go Back” slogan.

Half a dozen TMCP workers, including girls were injured in the skirmish.

More than 15,000 kg of flower worth Rs 2 lakh, hundreds of vividly dressed artistes from outside Bengal and thousands of ‘visiting’ saffron cadres from neighbouring districts and states joined the North Kolkata locals shouting, “Up! Up! Modi, Down! Down! Didi!” and “Jai Shri Ram!”

This even as BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday took the electoral battle against TMC to the Bengal Chief Minister’s own backyard riding a sea of humanity joining his mega six-km roadshow — from Esplanade to Swami Vivekananda’s ancestral house at Simla Street. The final phase of elections to nine constituencies of Kolkata and neighbouring districts will take place on May 17.

Even as artistes — clad as Ram, Hanuman and other Hindu icons — and dancers possibly from Rajasthan and Gujarat hit the streets performing eye-catching north-Indian ballet loads of flowers were showered from neighbouring houses down the boulevard.

“Look at the flowers falling from above. Do you think they are BJP workers? They are all common people fed up of Mamata Banerjee’s violent raj. This rally heralds the beginning of TMC’s end in Bengal.”

On whether the BJP too will do the same once it comes to power he said, “They have killed our 60 supporters in the past several months. Will they kill me also? Let them do that. But we will not do t he same. We will restore democracy in Bengal and bring it back to its former glory.”

BJP would win in upwards of 23 seats, he said.