Trinamul’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday said he was opposed to the idea of taking back turncoats, especially from the BJP, into Trinamul, before conducting an impromptu voice vote midway through his rally in Shymnagar to gauge the mood of the party workers on the issue that has triggered a debate in the ruling party in Bengal.

“Many traitors, do numberi, Mir Jafars are waiting in the queue. I am telling you, the door is kept closed,” said Abhishek.

“Do you understand my words? Since I am there, they are under pressure.... The door is kept closed. Now you tell me should I open the door or keep it closed?” he added, prodding the audience for a response.

A resounding “No” came from the audience — who had gathered at the Annapurna Jute Mill grounds — and he promised them that he would abide by their opinion.

“If we keep the door open, the entire BJP will come.... But as per your wish, I will keep the door closed,” Abhishek said, drawing a huge round of applause.

“Many people had left the Trinamul expecting that BJP would bring good days. But they realised their mistakes and returned to the party. Arjun Singh (who had won as a BJP nominee from Barrackpore) too returned recently. Now, many more are willing to come back.... I will not disclose the names,” he added.

After the rout in the Assembly polls and subsequent losses in bypolls, the BJP in Bengal has been in a disarray as several of its leaders — most of whom had joined the saffron camp before the Assembly polls — quit the party and joined the Trinamul.

The most recent example has been that of Singh, whose return created a lot of discontent in the party.

The issue of whether to take back people who had deserted the party ahead of the polls has been a contentious issue as Abhishek had been principally opposed to the idea of allowing the turncoats back to the party fold. Some of the old guards in the party, some of whom have the blessings of the chief minister, however, had been in favour of the return of the turncoats.

A source in the Trinamul said that the resounding “no” at the meeting venue will help Abhishek to keep the door shut.

“Besides, he also used the opportunity to send out a message to those who had resisted Singh’s return that he was with them,” said a source.

During the meeting, Abhishek also tried to put the debate on who is supreme in the party — he or Mamata Banerjee — to rest as he stressed that there was no number two, or number three in the party.

“There is only one leader and that’s Mamata Banerjee... There is no Number 2 or Number 3 in the party. After Mamata Banerjee, we all are ordinary workers,” he said, making it clear that there was no conflict in the Trinamul camp.

After clearing his position on the two most contentious issues in the Trinamul, Abhishek focused on his pet theme as he launched an attack on the BJP and accused the Narandera Modi government of looting ordinary people by regularly hiking prices of fuels and LPG gas.