This year’s Shahid Diwas in East Midnapore’s Nandigram on Thursday — held on January 7 every year in memory of the first loss of lives during the 2007 land agitations — turned out to be a show of strength for Trinamul.

The party, wary of the impact of Suvendu Adhikari’s defection to the BJP, got a boost with most Trinamul leaders of the region turning up.

The turnout — on the dais and the ground — gave Trinamul leaders Subrata Bakshi and Partha Chatterjee the confidence to announce that the party would “gather two lakh supporters” on January 18 for chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s rally in Nandigram’s Tekhali.

“Lakhs will turn up to hear to our leader Mamata Banerjee,” said zila parishad deputy chief Sheikh Sufian, who shared the dais with leaders Abu Taher, Sudip Khara and Piyush Bhunia.

Till Suvendu joined the BJP on December 19, the trio of Taher, Khara and Bhunia were always seen with him.

Mamata was to address the martyrs’ day rally on Thursday but postponed it after Ramnagar MLA Akhil Giri tested Covid positive late last month.

Trinamul leaders, including Bakshi and Chatterjee, made the event also about “betrayer Suvendu” and assessed the party’s cohesion in the aftermath of his joining the BJP.

“Nandigram is and will always be with Trinamul and Mamata,” said Bakshi . “Suvendu is a traitor,” added Taher, once Suvendu’s close confidant. “He may have played an important part (in the anti-land acquisition agitations), but he can’t usurp the narrative. We all know who did what,” Taher added.

In a sudden change of plan, Suvendu reached Shahid Bedi or martyrs’ column after Thursday midnight to pay his tribute, possibly to avert tension between the two parties as Trinamul had decided to offer tribute at the Shahid Bedi early in the morning, sources said.

“...I am here as family, not politician,” said Suvendu. “They said they wouldn’t allow me to pay my respect, but I am a fighter,” added Suvendu who will hold a “mega rally” in the town on Friday.