Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar passed away on March 17 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 63. A technocrat-turned-politician, Parrikar rose from an ordinary RSS pracharak background to become the country’s defence minister and also a four-time chief minister of Goa, emerging as one of the few national leaders from the politically volatile state.

Born on December 13, 1955, into a middle-class family, Parrikar’s political career began as an RSS pracharak and he continued working for the Sangh even after graduating from IIT-Bombay as a metallurgical engineer.

Parrikar enjoyed a man-next-door image who navigated Goa’s politics for two decades and became the BJP’s crisis man in the coastal state. He played a key role in making the BJP a force to reckon with in Goa, which remained for long a Congress bastion, with regional outfits having pockets of influence. He was the first IIT alumnus to serve as chief minister.

His plunge into BJP politics is considered as an attempt by the party to curb the growth of the state’s oldest regional political party Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. Parrikar entered electoral politics in 1994 when he won on a BJP ticket from Panaji. He was leader of the opposition from June to November 1999 and was known for his speeches against the then Congress-led government.

He became the chief minister of Goa for the first time on October 24, 2000, but his tenure lasted only until February 27, 2002. On June 5, 2002, he was re-elected and served another term as chief minister. On January 29, 2005, his government was reduced to a minority after four BJP MLAs resigned from the House.

Pratapsinh Rane of the Congress subsequently replaced Parrikar as chief minister. In 2007, the Parrikar-led BJP was defeated by the Congress. But 2012 saw Parrikar riding a popularity wave in the state when he took his party to the historic number of 21 out of 40 seats in the Assembly. He went on to become the chief minister again.

After the Narendra Modi-led Cabinet was sworn at the Centre, Parrikar was offered a ministerial berth in November 2014. He had a three-year-long stint as the defence minister. The controversial Rafale jet deal was initiated in September 2016 when he was holding the defence portfolio.

He returned to Goa in March 2017 as chief minister and led a coalition government following the Assembly elections.

Parrikar never shied away from displaying his affiliation to the Sangh. He even credited the surgical strikes conducted by Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir during his tenure as defence minister to the RSS’ teachings.