Manohar Parrikar

Manohar Parrikar was a key ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the pair sharing a similar Hindu nationalistic worldview. He was named India’s defence minister in 2014, where he spent most of his time antagonising Pakistan: comparing a trip to the country with “visiting hell”, suggesting that there was no good reason India shouldn’t launch a pre-emptive strike on its neighbours and threatening to kill the actor Aamir Khan. He left the role in 2017 and became chief minister of Goa, a role he was still serving in when he got a big ol’ dose of pancreatic cancer in 2018. A number of top teams had him on the radar, and Parrikar’s death not only got him a state funeral, but also shakes up the DDP leaderboard. Going Underground climb up to second, four points off the lead.

Manohar Parrikar
13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019
Died aged 63 (eight hits, 1 joker)