Vijay Rupani: Former Gujarat CM, Who Was Jailed During Emergency, Killed In Air India Plane Crash
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Vijay Rupani, 68, was a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat and served as the 16th chief minister of the state from 2016 to 2021, holding office for two consecutive terms
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was on board the ill-fated London-bound flight that crashed minutes after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday. He was among more than 200 people killed as the plane crashed into the residential quarters of a medical college in the Meghaninagar area.
According to reports, Rupani was listed as passenger number 12 on the flight manifest and booked in the Z class, which is under the business class category. He is survived by his wife, Anjali Rupani, and two children — a son and a daughter.
This is not the first time tragedy has struck the family. The Rupanis lost their youngest son, Pujit, in an accident and established the Pujit Rupani Memorial Trust in his name.
WHO WAS HE?
Rupani, 68, was a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat and served as the 16th chief minister of the state from 2016 to 2021, holding office for two consecutive terms. He took over from Anandiben Patel and, before being named CM, was the state BJP chief.
In his decades-long political career, he held key positions: Mayor of Rajkot (1996-1997), Rajya Sabha MP (2006-2012), and state cabinet minister with transport, labour, and water supply portfolios. He was also a two-time MLA, representing Rajkot West.
Born in Myanmar's Yangon, he was the youngest of seven children. His family, which belongs to the influential Jain community, moved to Rajkot in 1960 due to political instability.
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In 2022, he decided not to contest the assembly polls expressing a desire to step back from electoral politics. He was actively involved as the BJP incharge for Punjab.
This is the second such incident involving a sitting or former Gujarat CM, echoing the fate of Congress leader Balwantrai Mehta from six decades ago. He was the second chief minister of Gujarat. His plane was shot down by a Pakistan Air Force pilot in September 1965, resulting in a crash that killed him, his wife, three of his staff members, two crew members and a journalist.
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