On Monday, the former Maharashtra Home Minister and the senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, RR Patil, died while taking treatment on oral cancer in Lilavati hospital in suburban Mumbai.

Raosaheb Ramrao Patil, well known as RR Patil who was 58, the former deputy chief minister and the home minister of Maharashtra died at a city hospital on Monday in Mumbai after struggling with the oral cancer for about three months. Mr Patil, popularly known as Aaba, hailed from a self-effacing farming family at Tasgaon in Sangli district.  He crossed 57 and had been under the treatment for oral cancer for the last three months. He used to live along with his mother, wife, daughter and son. The incident took place on February 16^th.

Political Career

RR Patil’s political career straddling over 25 years which has been marked by both milestones and controversies as he always handled them very confidently without any pressure, his well-wishers said. Mr Patil’s speech-making and skill to deride his opponents with alleviate earned him admire in the Assembly. During his political career what remained as the trademark was his faithfulness to the Maratha leader Sharad Pawar.

Milestones

• In 2005-06, very aligned with the wishes of his party colleagues, Patil went in front with the choice to forbid the dance bars all over Maharashtra.
• Patil, who was deputy chief minister in the Congress (NCP) government which was in power till the middle of 2014 and was in-charge of the home collection, remained the rural face of NCP.
• In 1990, he was selected as MLA from Tasgaon constituency in Sangli district in the western Maharashtra.
• He took over the Rural Development Department at first to it and introduced initiatives that brought the total change in the face of rural Maharashtra.
• He was one of the very few leaders of the NCP who were certainly not accused of any con in his 15 years of tenure as Minister.

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s office all together rewarded the condolences to the family of Mr RR Patil by saying that his death would depart an emptiness in Maharashtra politics.