Trinamul on Saturday held a mega rally at Agarpara in North 24-Parganas, a faction-ridden district for the party, in a bid to show its strength after Trinamul’s Barrackpore MLA Shilbhadra Dutta joined the BJP with former minister Suvendu Adhikari at Amit Shah’s rally in Midnapore on December 19.

Some 15,000 people turned up for the rally where leaders like MP Saugata Roy, district president Jyotipriya Mallick and former minister Madan Mitra tried to boost the morale of party workers in the wake of Adhikari’s defection.

Sources said the rally was organised to send a message to Trinamul workers on the party’s strength and stem future defections to the BJP.

“I will request Mamata Banerjee to allow me to contest in Nandigram against Suvendu,” said Mitra at the rally.

Kajal Sinha, a Trinamul general secretary in North 24-Parganas and one of the rally organisers, said after MLA Dutta joined the BJP recently, the rally was important to boost the morale of local party leaders. “This rally told workers about our strength to make them believe in the ability to win the elections under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee,” Sinha said.

A senior leader said mega Trinamul rallies would be held in all districts where Adhikari has a base to try and stop more defections. “We need to tell party workers that Trinamul will be back in power in 2021.”

Rallies are likely to be held within a month in East Burdwan, West Burdwan, Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur and Cooch Behar.

Insiders said after it had become evident that Adhikari would join the BJP, Trinamul had started to map his followers across Bengal.

“Already we have lists of those leaders contacting Adhikari to switch sides. We have got in touch with them and told them why it would be a wrong move. The efforts will continue,” said a source.