Vijay Rupani, who served as the 16th Chief Minister of Gujarat, is among more than 200 people who died in the tragic Air India plane crash that was en route to London from Ahmedabad. The incident happened as soon as the flight AI-171 took off from the Ahmedabad airport, as it crashed in the Meghaninagar area. The e-ticket of Vijay Rupani also went viral on social media. It shows that he was scheduled to return from London to Ahmedabad on June 30. Ahmedabad Police has confirmed that more than 200 members on the flight were not able to survive the crash. However, a 40-year-old British national, Ramesh Vishwas, survived the horrific crash. So far, he is the only survivor from this incident.
Union Minister and Gujarat BJP president, CR Patil, confirmed the death of the former CM, informing that he was going to London to meet his family. "Our leader and former Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani, was going (to London) to meet his family. He is also a victim in this incident. May his soul rest in peace. This is a big loss for the BJP."
A look at Vijay Rupani's political career
Rupani, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was the Gujarat CM for two terms from August 7, 2016, to September 11, 2021. He succeeded Anandiben Patel in 2016 and continued at the top post after retaining his Rajkot West constituency in the 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly Election. He resigned from the position in September 2021 and was succeeded by Bhupendra Patel.
During the early part of his political career, Rupani was elected the corporator of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation in 1987 before serving as the mayor of Rajkot from 1996 to 1997. In the next year, he became the BJP's Gujarat unit general secretary. He was also appointed the chairman of the manifesto committee when Keshubhai Patel was serving as the Gujarat CM.
Rupani was also the chairman of the Gujarat Municipal Finance Board in 2013 when India's current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. In February 2016, Rupani became the state BJP President and held the position till August 2016.
Before taking over as the CM of the state, Rupani was inducted as a minister in the first cabinet expansion by Anandiben Patel in November 2014. From then till August 2016, he held the ministry of transport, water supply, labor, and employment. (News Agency)
