Shaikh started his political career in 1979 as a Senate Member of Gujarat University. He served as the General Secretary of the National Students' Union of India (1984–1986) and General Secretary of the Gujarat Pradesh Youth Congress (1985-1990). Later he was a Syndicate Member of Gujarat University (1990–1993). He was a Chairman of the Minority Cell of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (1992–1995) and Vice Chairman of Minority Cell of party (2020).[2][3][4] He was appointed the Vice President of Khawaja Saheb Dargah Committee, Ajmer Sharif Dargah by the Ministry of Minority Affairs of India.[3]
He was elected as the Municipal Councillor in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in 1995 and subsequently served four terms (1995–2000, 2000–2005, 2010–2015, 2015–2020) from Behrampura ward.[5][2][6] During this period, he was a Chairman of the Standing Committee (2000–2003) as well as a member of Standing Committee, Town Planning Committee, Legal Committee and V. S. Hospital Management Board.[2][7][6] He had served as the party spokesperson as well.[6][8] He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation from 2010 to his death in 2020.[3][9]
He died on 26 April 2020 from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.[2] He was buried two days later at Ganj Shahid Kabrastan in Danilimda, Ahmedabad. His wife Farida Khatun had also contracted COVID-19.[5][10]