From an autorickshaw operators’ union leader backed by the CPM to a zilla parishad member and an indispensable person for the Trinamul Congress in a large part of North 24-Parganas, Sheikh Shahjahan’s rise is envious even for his party colleagues.
In the past 12 years, Shahjahan transformed himself into a powerful ruling Trinamul leader in a large part of the Sunderbans delta spanning over three blocks in North 24-Parganas adopting a simple yet stern policy “be my loyal or else get ready to face consequences”, sources told The Telegraph.
Several of his party colleagues and officials in the North 24-Parganas district administration have witnessed the bitter results of ignoring Shahjahan’s diktat, including a block development officer who was allegedly beaten up for raising his voice against irregularities in the rural housing scheme.
A champion in maintaining public relations at the grassroots level, Shahjahan proved himself a man in need of local residents.
During the past five years, people in Sandeshkhali saw him become the owner of about six brick kilns, over a dozen fishing bheris, a multi-storied market complex and several residential buildings, including one in Calcutta.
His “enemies” in the party and outside alleged his involvement in running narcotics rackets in the bordering areas. A truck from Assam containing narcotics nabbed by police in Calcutta last year raised suspicion about his alleged involvement.
Son of a brick kiln owner in the Sarberia village of Sandeshkhali, Shahjahan, second among three siblings, began his political career as a CPM activist in 2008.
Sources said his uncle Moslem Sheikh, a prominent CPM leader and panchayat pradhan, was his mentor.
A few days after Shahjahan began to work as an autorickshaw operator in the Dhamakhali-Sarberia stretch, he was made the secretary of the CITU-backed union.
CPM insiders said as a young leader, Shahjahan had drawn the attention of the party leadership and was given charge of the party’s activities in the area bypassing Moslem.
From 2009 to 2011, the worst phase of the Left Front government, he took a lead role in saving the CPM’s organisation in the area.
However, the fall of the Left government changed the mind of Shahjahan. Battling a number of pending police cases against him that include murders, Shahjahan joined Trinamul.
Since he joined the Trinamul, a large area that falls under two blocks of Sandeshkhali and Hingalganj witnessed a rapid change in the political scene.
Trinamul insiders said he played an instrumental role in allegedly forcing a large number of CPM leaders and activists to join Trinamul and threatened others to become inactive.
By 2014, Shahjahan took ultimate control of the party and administration and developed proximity with the district party in charge and minister Jyoti Priya Mallick.
Trinamul insiders acknowledged his organisational skill paid dividends to the party to ensure victory in the 2016 Assembly polls, followed by the victory in the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat in 2019.
