R R Patil: A leader who was admired for clean image and easy accessibility

Fifty-seven-year old RR started his political innings after being elected to Sangli Zilla Parishad in 1979

Maharashtra's former deputy chief minister and home minister RR Patil, who was popularly known as Aaba in the political circle and among his followers, today died of cancer.

Fifty-seven-year-old RR, who started his political innings after elected to the Sangli Zilla Parishad in 1979 , entered the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 1990 after winning on a Congress ticket. Thereafter, he consecutively won all five assembly elections including the 2014 poll despite his illness.

In his death, the Nationalist Congress Party, which ruled the state in an alliance with the Congress during 1999 and 2014, said it had lost leader who was admired for his clean image and easy accessibility. He was among the top leaders who had joined Sharad Pawar after the formation of NCP in June 1999.

Known for his oratory skills with sense of humour and timing, RR as legislator was quite combative to take on the treasury benches notwithstanding he sitting on the ruling or opposition benches. He came into limelight especially during the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance rule between 1995 and 1999 when he took on the state government on its flip flop over the controversial Enron project, corruption cases allegedly against the Sena and BJP ministers and the government being remote controlled by Shiv Sena supremo late Bal Thackeray.

RR received Best Legislator award in the state legislature. He had nursed friends in all political parties and social organizations.

He used to be in demand by NCP leaders and grassroot workers for addressing election or public meetings. He was among four or five NCP young and bright leaders were inducted as the cabinet minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh led cabinet and was allotted rural development department in 1999. He made it stamp on its functioning by successfully implementing the Sant Gadge Baba Gram Swatcha Abhiyan. Subsequently, he became deputy chief minister and given key home department in 2004.

During his tenure as home minister, RR took a bold decisions to ban dance bars despite criticism from a sections of the society. He had to step down as home minister after his remarks made in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks that ‘small incidents do happen in big cities’ triggered an outrage.'

RR was reinducted in the in 2009 and was reallocated home department. During his second stint as home minister RR took a number of steps to tackle naxal activities in Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts.