Who was Vijay Rupani? The ‘low-profile’ ex- Gujarat CM who died in Air India plane crash

Air India Plane Crash: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was onboard the London-bound Air India flight that crashed near Ahmedabad airport, has passed away in the tragic accident. Rupani, 68, was headed to London to meet his family. 

Rupani, the 16th chief minister of Gujarat for two terms from 2016 to 2021, was born to Mayaben and Ramniklal Rupani, in Yangon, Myanmar to a Jain Bania family. Rupani was the seventh and youngest son of the couple. Rupani's family moved to Rajkot in 1960 due to political instability in Burma. Rupani studied Bachelor of Arts from Dharmendrasinhji Arts College and LLB from Saurashtra University

Rupaniwas a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, representing Rajkot West.

Rupani, 68, was among the 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which crashed into a residential area in Meghani Nagar five minutes after take-off.

In September 1965, Balwantrai Mehta, Gujarat’s second CM was flying a Beechcraft from Ahmedabad to Mithapur when the aircraft was shot down by the Pakistani Air Force during the Indo-Pak war.

Believing the civilian plane to be a military threat, two F-86 Sabre jets opened fire near the Rann of Kutch, killing Mehta, his wife Sarojben, aides, a journalist, and two crew members.

Rupani worked as an activist of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad during his college days. He was an active participant in the Navnirman movement and was inspired by the JP-led anti-graft movement. He joined the BJP when he was all of 24.

In 1975, Rupani was imprisoned in Bhavnagar Jail after he protested against Indra Gandhi’s Emergency. Rupani is also an active Swayam Sevak of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh.

A member of Gujarat’s Jain community, Rupani worked largely within the party organisation before winning his first Assembly election from Rajkot West in a bypoll in 2014.