The former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who rose from a pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to become the country's Defence Minister and also chief minister of Goa, served the state four times as chief minister and had a three-year-long stint as Defence Minister in the Narendra Modi-led cabinet.

He was a leader who enjoyed acceptance from all sections of the BJP and beyond. 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. Parrikar (63) breathed his last on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. His health, which has been fluctuating for a year, took a turn for the worse in the past two days. Former defence minister Parrikar had been on life support system since late Saturday night.