Feb. 9: Two days after a unity call in Trinamul to counter Siliguri mayor Asok, the ruling party faces the prospect of staving off another Ashok, this time the retired Supreme Court judge and former human rights panel chief of Bengal.

Justice Ganguly today met CPM leader and mayor Asok Bhattacharya, which the former judge said was a courtesy call. But the involvement of his Save Democracy Forum outfit in carrying on an anti-Trinamul campaign has got some ruling party leaders in Siliguri a bit worried, sources in the party said.

Ganguly, who heads the Save Democracy Forum, met mayor Bhattacharya at his residence and also went to meet Rohit Pashi, a youth in Malbazar who was detained by police after he criticised a local Trinamul councillor on a Facebook post, without naming him.

Asked about the visit by Ganguly, mayor Bhattacharya said: "It was a courtesy meeting and he appreciated me for defeating Trinamul in two consecutive local polls last year."

In Trinamul, however, a section of leaders seemed wary.

"There were some incidents into which Trinamul's name has been dragged for some reason or the other in north Bengal in the past four years," said a Siliguri-based Trinamul leader who didn't want to be named.

"Unlike south Bengal, where organisations like the Save Democratic Forum hold regular meetings and demonstrations, we have not seen any significant activity on its part in north Bengal so far. But today, none other than Justice Ganguly went to the mayor's residence and spoke to him. They also went to the youth's house in Malbazar and visited tea estates owned by Duncans' Goenka Group. It's a new challenge for us. Till now, we have been countering rival political parties. But now, we have to take on anti-Trinamul apolitical forums," the Trinamul leader said.

Another Trinamul leader based in Jalpaiguri said: "If such prominent faces of the state keep visiting north Bengal and comment on cases which are linked to Trinamul, particularly ahead of the Assembly polls, it will help Opposition parties reap political dividends. Under such circumstances, we will have to think of bringing together prominent apolitical people who support Trinamul and launch counter-campaigns."

When Justice Ganguly's visit to the mayor's home was mentioned to minister Gautam Deb, he said: "India is a free country and anybody is free to go anywhere. We have nothing to say on their visit."

The Calcutta-based former judge, who has been harping on about the need to forge an anti-Trinamul alliance, was accompanied by forum secretary Chanchal Chakraborti and advocate Bharati Mutsuddi.

Justice Ganguly, who visited Bagracote and Nagaisuree tea estates alleged that there was malnutrition in the gardens. "The registers available with the medical teams in the gardens show that the percentage of haemoglobin among residents is ranging from two per cent to seven per cent. This indicates that they are not getting adequate food and they are malnourished," he said.

"Even then, the state is in denial mode. Owners are deserting tea estates but the state government is not doing anything. There are irregularities in relief provided by the state and even the panchayats are inactive," he added.

Tomorrow, Justice Ganguly is scheduled to visit the house of a girl who was found dead near rail tracks in Dhupguri in August 2014. The girl was found dead after attending a kangaroo court convened by Trinamul leaders in Dhupguri where her father was insulted and she was slapped.

Additional reporting by Bireswar Banerjee in Siliguri and our Jalpaiguri correspondent