Raiganj, Oct. 29 -- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday threatened legal action against Chopra MLA Hamidul Rahaman, alleging his involvement in several criminal activities and asking police to reopen pending cases against him.

Addressing a public meeting at Karnajora in Raiganj, Adhikari alleged that Hamidul was accused in earlier cases. He also accused the MLA and his associates of assaulting BJP workers during the 2021 Assembly elections and the 2023 Panchayat polls and said: "We want those who were tortured to file fresh complaints against Hamidul Rahaman. We have instructed the police to reopen all pending cases against him and take lawful action."

He warned that Hamidul would face consequences similar to those of Jahangir Sheikh, whom he accused of considering himself invincible.

Hamidul, who won the Chopra Assembly seat on a TMC ticket in the 2026 elections, had joined the camp led by party leader Ritabrata Banerjee. However, on Tuesday, he dismissed speculation about his political allegiance, reaffirming his loyalty to Mamata Banerjee and distancing himself from Ritabrata's camp.

Hamidul claimed that the legislators had initially signed a document supporting Ritabrata on the understanding that they would remain with Mamata Banerjee. According to him, Ritabrata had not disclosed any plan to form a separate party at that time. He said he decided to leave the camp after learning that Ritabrata had formed a separate party and approached the court for a party symbol. Hamidul, however, did not react to the Chief Minister's allegations on Thursday.

The political developments come amid a divide among the five TMC MLAs elected from North Dinajpur district. Besides Hamidul, the party won the Islampur, Chakulia, Goalpokhar and Itahar seats through Kanaiyalal Agarwal, Minhaj Arfin Azad, Ghulam Rabbani and Musarraf Hossain respectively. Although all five MLAs were invited to the Chief Minister's administrative meeting, only Kanaiyalal Agarwal, reportedly aligned with Ritabrata's camp, attended. The other four, who are backing Mamata Banerjee, remained absent.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.