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Journalism of Courage
SUGAR BARON Ratnakar Gutte, in judicial custody in an Enforcement Directorate case, won the Gangakhed seat by a margin of over 7,000 votes. In the 2014 Assembly polls, he had lost by just over 2,000 votes to the Nationalist Congress Party’s Madhusudan Kendre. The latter polled 4,181 votes this time, in comparison to Gutte’s 40,153
Official BJP-Sena alliance candidate Vishal Kadam of the Shiv Sena said he was disappointed by local BJP workers’ decision to support Gutte. Kadam polled a little more than 33,200 votes in a multi-cornered fight in which Independent Sitaram Ghandat polled 22,758 votes.
Gutte’s team had installed hoardings in the town declaring him as the “official” candidate”of the “Rashtriya Samaj Paksha-Bharatiya Janata Party-RPI(A)” alliance. Gutte, who is in the ED custody in connection with a case of bank fraud involving his Gangakhed Sugar & Energy Pvt Ltd, had filed nomination as an Independent, though he is associated with the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, an ally of the ruling BJP.
Gutte’s hoardings included photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CM Devendra Fadnavis, Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde, RSP leader Mahadev Jankar and others. It also bears the symbol allotted to him as an independent, a farmer driving a tractor.
Gutte is the father of Vijay Gutte, director of the film The Accidental Prime Minister, who had last year faced allegations of GST fraud.
