Arun Jaitley, a lawyer-turned-politician, enjoyed cordial ties with politicians across spectrum

Highlights He was one of the most powerful ministers in PM Modi's first term

Mr Jaitley had been seen less and less in public over last few months

Mr Jaitley was also passionate about cricket

Arun Jaitley, one of the chief defenders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, died on Saturday at 66 after battling a long illness.

The former union minister had been admitted at Delhi's AIIMS hospital, and is the second high profile loss for the ruling BJP after Sushma Swaraj, who died on August 6.

Like Sushma Swaraj, Mr Jaitley, a lawyer-turned-politician, enjoyed cordial ties with politicians across the spectrum.

One of the most powerful ministers in PM Modi's first term, Mr Jaitley was acknowledged as the ultimate backroom strategist.

After the BJP won a second term in the national election this year, he wrote to PM Modi that he would "not be part of any responsibility in the new government" because of his health.

Arun Jaitley was one of the chief defenders of PM Narendra Modi's government

"I am writing to you to formally request you that I should be allowed a reasonable time for myself, my treatment and my health and therefore, not be a part of any responsibility, for the present, in the new government," the former Finance Minister wrote in the letter that he also tweeted.

Mr Jaitley said he had faced "some serious health challenges" and would like to keep away from any responsibility to be able to "concentrate on my treatment and health."

The senior BJP leader signed off by saying he would "obviously" have a lot of time to take up any work "informally" to support the government or the party.

Mr Jaitley had been seen less and less in public over the last few months, expressing himself mostly through his blogs and messages on social media.

Always among the BJP's chief troubleshooters, Mr Jaitley steered major economic legislation and also defended controversial policies for the government.

Mr Jaitley, like Sushma Swaraj, was known to be part of LK Advani's core team

PM Modi had given Mr Jaitley charge of three ministries when he first took office in 2014 -- finance, defence and information and broadcasting.

Mr Jaitley's health issues became worse after he had a kidney transplant in May last year. A diabetic, he also had to skip the interim budget in February when he was in hospital in the US for treatment.

Born into a family of Punjabi lawyers, Mr Jaitley studied at Delhi's Sri Ram college. He debuted into politics as a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students' union linked to the BJP.

During the Emergency of 1975-77, when the Congress government of Indira Gandhi severely restricted fundamental rights and jailed several political opponents, Mr Jaitley was associated with Jai Prakash Narayan, popularly known as "JP". He was also jailed.

Mr Jaitley, like Sushma Swaraj, was known to be part of LK Advani's core team. But it was his bond with Narendra Modi, cemented by his role as a bridge between Gujarat and New Delhi, which fuelled his rapid rise.

A Rajya Sabha member, he contested the 2014 election from Amritsar in Punjab, but could not win despite a perceived Modi wave. But he returned to parliament as Finance Minister.

Mr Jaitley was also passionate about cricket and headed Delhi's cricket body.