Gopinath Munde was born on December 12, 1949 in Parli to Pandurang and Limbabai Munde in a middle-class Vanjari farmer's family. Gopinath Munde attended a government primary school, in Nathra village, Beed where classes were conducted under a tree. He was an average student

Gopinath Munde got his secondary education in the Zilla Parishad School. He used to go to Arya Samaj Mandir daily to read newspapers and books and listen to discourses. Gopinath Munde graduated in Commerce from a college in Ambejogai

During his college days in the 1970s, Gopinath Munde met the suave, soft-spoken Pramod Mahajan who coaxed him to join the RSS student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Later, Gopinath Munde was jailed for nearly three years during the Emergency

Gopinath Munde's true political calling came after his release in 1977 when he attended a training camp of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Pune after his release. Munde subsequently took over an executive committee member of the Pune unit

In pic: Gopinath Munde, Pramod Mahajan, Bal Thackeray (on the floor) and L K Advani at a public meeting at Girgaum Chowpatty in Mumbai

In 1980, when the BJP was born out of the former Bharatiya Jana Sangh after the Janata Party coalition collapsed, Gopinath Munde became state president of the new party's youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, and was elected a Maharashtra legislator.

In picture: Narayan Rane with Kirit Somaiya, Gopinath Munde and Manohar Joshi during a public rally organised by BJP-Shiv Sena in 1999

Gopinath Munde was Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha from December 12, 1991 to March 14, 1995. Gopinath Munde was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of Maharashtra when Manohar Joshi-led government took over the reins of the state on March 14, 1995

In picture: Vilasrao Deshmukh with Gopinath Munde during the swearing-in ceremony of Deshmukh at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai in October 18, 1999. Pic/AFP

Gopinath Munde's tenure as Home Minister became famous for the free hand he gave the Mumbai and state police to eliminate mafia dons and gangsters in what came to be known as the dreaded 'encounter killings' or staged shootouts

Gopinath Munde greets Vilasrao Deshmukh during one of his birthdays. All photos/mid-day archives

In Gopinath Munde's tenure as Home Minister of Maharashtra, many ordinary policemen, virtually given a free hand, went around killing the baddies in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur and other places and were publicly eulogised

Meanwhile, Gopinath Munde's friendship with Pramod Mahajan blossomed into a family relationship when he married his sister, Pradnya Mahajan.

An image of Vilasrao Deshmukh, Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde tweeted by Riteish Deshmukh on his Twitter account @Riteishd

After Pramod Mahajan's death, Gopinath Munde gained prominence as the senior-most BJP leader in the state until Gadkari's elevation. Fighting and winning his first Lok Sabha election in 2009, Munde became deputy leader of opposition in Lok Sabha.

In picture: Gopinath Munde and Rahul Mahajan at Pramod Mahajan's funeral in Worli, Mumbai

Gopinath Munde has three daughters - Pankaja Munde, Pritam Munde and Yashashri Munde. Pritam Munde his second daughter is an M.P. from her father Gopinath Munde's seat, vacant after his sudden death

Narendra Modi, Nitin Gadkari and Gopinath Munde, two years ago. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Gopinath Munde, who rose from the masses, established himself as a prominent leader of the BJP. Coming from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), his popularity made him an important part of the BJP. He was also an example for many for having three daughters as Beed, his home district, is notorious for female foeticide

In picture: Rajnath Singh consoling Gopinath Munde following the death of Pramod Mahajan

On June 3, 2014, Gopinath Munde, who made his entry into the Union Cabinet for the first time after the Lok Sabha polls, died of shock and cardiac arrest suffered during a road accident. The 64-year-old BJP leader was on his way to the airport when his car was hit by another vehicle at Prithviraj road-Tughlak road roundabout in the heart of the capital

In picture: Gopinath Munde, Narayan Rane and Nitin Gadkari outside Raj Bhavan

The accident happened at 6 am when Gopinath Munde was travelling in his car in Delhi with a driver and his secretary just a week after taking oath as a Union minister. Gopinath Munde was on his way to the airport to go to Maharashtra

In picture: L.K. Advani, Gopinath Munde, Rahul Mahajan and Raj Thackeray during a condolence meeting for Pramod Mahajan at King George High School in Dadar

Doctors at AIIMS said that Gopinath Munde was not breathing when he was brought in. He was sitting in the back seat of his car which was hit by another car. It was later said that Gopinath Munde died of shock and cardiac arrest suffered during the accident. Both the driver and the secretary were unhurt

In picture: Former India PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee (L) blows a tribal wind instrument as Gopinath Munde (L) looks on at a election rally at Jawhar in Thane District in 2004. Pic/AFP

Gopinath Munde's postmortem was conducted by a medical board at AIIMS in Delhi. The postmortem report of Gopinath Munde established that his death was caused by a massive heart attack during the car crash. Munde's liver was ruptured in the road accident and he suffered a cardiac arrest due to shock

In picture: Gopinath Munde wishing Balasaheb Thackeray on his 82nd birthday at Matoshree in Bandra, Mumbai

Gopinath Munde is survived by his wife Pradnya and three daughters including Pankaja, BJP MLA from Parli and heir to his political legacy

In picture: Gopinath Munde with Narayan Rane at a function at Police Gymkhana in Marine Drive, Mumbai

Gopinath Munde's funeral pyre was lighted by daughter Pankaja marking a departure from the Hindu tradition of a male member of the family doing duty and signalled her taking over the leader's political mantle

In picture: Gopinath Munde with senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi at a BJP National Executive Meeting in New Delhi

In 2015, Mundes memorial developed on 18 acres of land at Parli in Beed district, was inaugurated by Devendra Fadnavis and Amit Shah, on the occasion of Gopinath Munde's birth anniversary.

In picture: Gopinath Munde at Bhaiyyu Maharaj's ashram in Indore

In 2016, on Gopinath Munde's birth anniversary, a 20-feet tall statue of Gopinath Munde was unveiled on this occasion at the memorial, called Gopinath Gad.

In picture: Gopinath Munde, Pramod Mahajan, Jana Krishnamurthy and Pandurang Phundkar at a BJP meeting in Malad, Mumbai

In January 2019, NCP leader Dhananjay Munde demanded a probe either by the R&AW or a Supreme Court judge into the death of his uncle and former Union minister Gopinath Munde in 2014. The demand came after a cyber expert claimed that the BJP leader was 'killed' as he was aware of hacking of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls

In picture: Gopinath Munde with Rebecca Mark, the former Enron executive

The cyber expert also claimed that BJP leader Gopinath Munde was 'killed' because he was aware of EVM hacking in the elections. He provided no proof to back up his claim

In picture: Gopinath Munde and Narayan Rane

The cyber expert also claimed that NIA officer Tanzil Ahmed, who was investigating Gopinath Munde's death, was planning to file an FIR, noting that the BJP leader had been murdered, but was himself killed

In picture: Gopinath Munde with senior BJP leader and the current Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj

Nephew Dhananjay Munde said all those who loved Gopinath Munde had always raised questions over his death, wondering 'whether it actually was an accident or sabotage

In picture: Gopinath Munde with Devendra Fadnavis at the BJP office in Nariman Point in Mumbai earlier this year

The CBI in October 2014 ruled out any foul play in the death of Gopinath Munde, claiming that the politician had died due to injuries sustained in a road accident

In picture: BJP party workers welcoming Gopinath Munde at the domestic airport in Mumbai on May 31, 2014. Pic/ Rahul More

Maharashtra minister and daughter Pankaja Munde rubbished the claim made by a self-proclaimed US-based Indian cyber expert that her father and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde was murdered. She said she was neither a hacker nor an investigation agency

Maharashtra minister and daughter Pankaja Munde rubbished the claim made by a self-proclaimed US-based Indian cyber expert that her father and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde was murdered. She said she was neither a hacker nor an investigation agency

In May 2019, former chief minister Narayan Rane has claimed that senior BJP leader and former union minister Gopinath Munde's death in a road accident in New Delhi in 2014 was 'sudden and mysterious'.

In picture: Gopinath Munde and Narayan Rane at Azad Maidan

Gopinath Munde's daughter Pankaja Munde said that the allegations of EVM hacking have already been trashed by the Election Commission of India (ECI), so there was nothing left for her to speak on the issue

In picture: Gopinath Munde at a felicitation ceremony for Narendra Modi at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai

Gopinath Munde with family