On Saturday (29th August), West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the Birbhum district, prayed at the Tarapith, and held an administrative meeting in Rampurhat. The local Trinamool Congress MLA from the Hasan constituency, Kajal Sheikh aka Fayezul Haque, was also present at that gathering (as per protocol).
Since then, social media has been rife with claims that Adhikari interacted with the notorious TMC MLA and was somehow planning to rehabilitate him into the BJP or the Ritabrata Banerjee-led TMC faction.
The disinformation came days after Kajal Sheikh resigned from the post of Zilla Parishad Sabhadhipati (Chairperson). Earlier, several members of the Trinamool Congress moved a no-confidence motion against him at the Zilla Parishad.
Nonetheless, his presence at the official event sparked intense speculations about alleged acceptance of his antics by the BJP and Suvendu Adhikari in particular.
But a careful persual of the videos from the administrative meeting in Rampurhat shows a starkly different picture. While it is true that Kajal Sheikh stood behind Suvendu Adhikari during his press briefing, it is evident that the Chief Minister had avoided him throughout the meeting.
This was despite multiple attempts by the TMC leader to strike a conversation with Adhikari. It is highly unlikely that Kajal Sheikh will ever find refuge in the BJP (as some people are speculating online).
You are unnecessarily generating hate against a CM who is doing everything possible for hindus.
— Facts (@BefittingFacts) August 29, 2026
You carefully used one screenshot from the entire video to show Kajal Sheikh standing right behind Suvendu.
Here is the full video. See how Kajal Sheikh entered the frame and then… https://t.co/uTtHNqxjTD pic.twitter.com/Rfkh5glOFf
About 10 days earlier, BJP State President Samik Bhattarcharjee pointed how how Kajal Sheikh is considered a ‘miscreant‘ by his own party. “Who is Kajal Sheikh? Will our State be remembered for this kind of a man?”
It must be mentioned that the TMC MLA had initially joined the Ritabrata faction but later moved away after his arch rival Anubrata Mondal went to that side.
Their rivalary goes decades back, with each striving to control the illegal multi-million rupee businesses of riverbed sand extraction and quarry stones in the Nanoor region and greater Birbhum district.
A 2016 report by the India Today reads –
“The sand mafia was once close to the Left parties, now it has become a battleground for two TMC satraps.One of the alleged warlords, Kajal, is the younger brother of Sheikh Shahnawaz, the face of the Trinamool in the region from 1998 to 2000, when the party was struggling to get a toehold in this red bastion. On July 27, 2000, Shahnawaz and Kajal planned the first-ever village takeover operation in Nanoor.
It was a fierce and bloody skirmish, since declared a ‘black day’ by the TMC. Kajal, with the backing of Shahnawaz, now the MLA from Ketugram in Burdwan, started dabbling in illegal sand mining and gradually took control of all 10 ghats in Nanoor’s lower belt. Gone underground for the last seven months, today he has arrest warrants out against him in 43 cases, including murder.”
Ahead of the 2016 election, Kajal Sheikh was accused of working for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and facilitating the defection of more than 3000 Trinamool Congress workers. But within 3 years, his dynamics with the party supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew changed.
In May 2019, he was elevated to the position of Nanoor’s block executive President, much to the dislike of TMC leaders Anubrata Mondal and Firhad Hakim.
Around the time of the 2023 Panchayat election, Kajal Sheikh was prominently featured in posters pasted outside TMC party offices from Bolpur to Nanoor. It was clear that he was increasingly being favoured over the likes of Anubroto Mondal by the high command.
A year later, Sheikh’s security cover was upgraded to the Y+ category, which elated many of his supporters.
In April 2026, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek was seen campaigning for Kajal Sheikh from the Hasan Vidhan Sabha constituency, which the latter eventually won.
It is clear that Kajal Sheikh has been politically opportunistic, which is evident from his dwindling affiliations. But this does not mean that the BJP unit of Bengal will take him in as one of their own. This became crystal clear from Suvendu Adhikari’s recent snub in Rampurhat.
Kajal Sheikh has been instrumental in the 2021 West Bengal post-poll violence during which more than a dozen BJP workers were killed. OpIndia had compiled 40 such incidents.
As per a report by Organiser, a BJP worker who was raped during the post-poll violence had named Kajal Sheikh as one of the TMC leaders who were involved in mobilising the mob that attacked her family and publicly humiliated her.
Even after the 2026 West Bengal election, Kajal Sheikh was named as one of the TMC leaders who directed violence against BJP workers in Birbhum.
Between 2008 and 2016, multiple cases involving murder, attempt to murder, rioting, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation, and possession of explosives were registered against the Trinamool Congress leader.
Even until last year, Kajal Sheikh was threatening the Modi government with street violence and fearmongering about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in his constituency.
“If the citizenship of anyone from Birbhum is revoked, then the foot soldiers of Trinamool Congress (Maa-Mati-Manush) won’t remain silent. This is a conspiracy by the BJP. I will tell all BJP leaders to remain prepared. SIR can take place the way it is designed. But if the voting right of anyone is taken away, then there is trouble awaiting your fate.”
This dog-whistle from a man with a history of violence against his rival BJP workers and leaders is evidence enough that he will not be entertained by the State unit of the BJP.
Those who are outraged over Kajal Sheikh being in the same frame as Suvendu Adhikari must understand the context of the setup and stop believing in conspiracy theories.
