And now, 19th century social reformer Vidyasagar steers Bengal campaign in last phase of Lok Sabha polls

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the bust of Vidyasagar during the attack on Amit Shah's rally was damaged by the Trinamool, the regional party ruling the state said Modi is a pathological liar to claim that.

While the PM promised to construct a "grand statue" of the  educationist and an icon of widow remarriage with panchaloh (five metals) at the same spot, Mamata said the PM cannot bring back the heritage of 200 years and should do "sit-ups" holding his ears for the damage.

Several BJP supporters and leaders reminded how Mamata Banerjee had barged inside the West Bengal Assembly in 2006 during the Singur unrest against Tata Motors plant and had went on a rampage uprooting tables, chairs and microphones.

But after the incident at Vidyasagar College two days ago, the battle is now over staking a claim over the legacy of Bengal and its rich history of social reforms and educational progress that showed a path to building a modern India.

As the political heat was beating the Celsius scale over last few weeks, the vandalisation of Vidyasagar's bust, which was kept inside Vidyasagar College in north Kolkata, turned the social reformer into an issue which is getting highlighted by both Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Soon after the incident when the blame-game had already begun, the Chief Ministe arrived at the spot within hours on her way back from a rally in Behala.

Banerjee's roadshow from Beleghata to Shyambazar on Wednesday was not bereft of the popular Bengali sentiment towards Vidyasagar as several posters condemning the attack on the social reformer was visible.

Today the Kolkata streets saw at every nook and corner huge banners with the image of the broken pieces of the bust with a single word screaming in Bengali "Chhii" (meaning shame in English).

BJP on the other hand in one campaign in Jadavpur used a masquerade artist- all decked up as Vidyasagar in dhoti and bald plait- to be part of the campaign, with the candidate Anupam Hazra, who himself switched over to BJP from Trinamool, claiming that the vandalism of Vidyasagar statue was part of Trinamool plot.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is almost parked in West Bengal in this year's General Elections, vowed to build a Vidyasagar's statue of "panchdhatu" only to get a sharp reply by the Trinamool chief.

"Can he bring back the heritage? Such a liar. He should do sit ups for speaking lies," Banerjee said at a rally on Thursday.

Though several men dressed in saffron t-shirts were spotted on camera attacking Vidyasagar College after they were allegedly provoked from the premises of the college and the Calcutta University main building, no CCTV footage or proof has yet arrived to draw a conclusion as to who is the main culprit.

A Bengali daily reported that the CCTV was not already in a condemned state and so no footage could be found. But the CM claimed he would drag the PM to jail for the same armed with proofs.

Visiting the college immediately to inspect the vandalisation on Tuesday, Banerjee lashed out at the BJP through media saying, "I am living in Kolkata since birth but never witnessed such a type of incident". She, obviously ignored the Trinamool's vandalisation of Vidhan Sabha during the Left Front regime over the Tata Nano project issue.

The Trinamool leaders, who consciously take the name of all social reformers and religions in a same line, soon after the incident updated their profile images on  Twitter with one of Vidyasagar.

The vandalisation on Tuesday was preceded by a scuffle between the Trinamool and BJP workers outside Calcutta University in Kolkata's College Street area through which saffron party chief Amit Shah's mega roadshow was passing. However, who provoked the scuffle is not above a debate.

Shah, who is concentrating to make inroads in West Bengal, waited for the night but came back hard upon Banerjee the very next day.

Furnishing some pictures which show the college gate was locked, the BJP national president did not wait much but to allege that it was the Trinamool men who conspired against the saffron party by vandalising Vidyasagar's bust.

As nine Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal will go to polls three days from now, the circulation of emotionally-charged Vidyasagar write-ups, criticising Trinamool or BJP, over messaging app Whatsapp is enough to draw a conclusion that Vidyasagar- who had simplified and reconstructed the Bengali alphabet and typography and penned the famous Borno porichoy in1854 is back in the consciousness of Bengalis, albeit for all the wrong reasons.