Barthakur was billed a 'dark horse' to win the election, especially as he was supported by dissident factions of the then Congress led by current BJP minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Ranjit Barthakur and Fraser Castellino were the only two shareholders of the Rajasthan Royals franchise, completely unknown to the BCCI at the time.
As a result, Rajasthan Royals were fined rupees 100 crore by the Enforcement Directorate of India ,[7] whilst an out of court settlement between the franchise and BCCI ensued.
The shares were then sold to EM Sporting Holdings Ltd. Mauritius, and Emerging Media, UK, at par value"[8] Barthakur was close to Lalit Modi, and he declared that 'Modi has given excellent business model in IPL'[9] Publicly available documents,[10] released by Lalit Modi from his website mentioned Barthakur's role in arranging meetings through his Indian National Congress connections.
He also serves as an advisor to several Government and Private Enterprises in pursuit of healthcare services, environmental issues, tourism and social transformation.
Ranjit is on the management board of several corporate, institutions and social organizations both in India and abroad including those of Max Healthcare, Anand Group, Airtel, Hutchison Max-Touch Telecom (Vodafone), Marconi and ITC.