 "Vijay Rupani killed in Ahmedabad plane crash: Who was low-profile BJP leader?")
Former Gujarat chief Minister Vijay Rupani was killed on the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad today (June 12).
The London-bound plane crashed just minutes after taking off.
Union Minister CR Patil on Thursday confirmed that Rupani was board.
“Our leader, former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, was on that flight. He, too, has fallen victim to this tragic accident. May God grant peace to his soul.”
While all 242 passengers and crew were feared dead, there are reports of a single survivor.
Rupani, who was in seat 2D of the Boeing Dreamliner, was headed to London to meet his family.
He was seated in business class.
Rupani is survived by his wife Anjali and their two children.
But who was the 68-year-old Rupani? What do we know about him?
Let’s take a closer look
Who was he?
Rupani, 68, was a low-profile BJP leader and an RSS man through and through.
Rupani was born in Myanmar’s Rangoon on August 2, 1956 – the youngest of seven children.
Rupani and his family moved to Gujarat due to political instability in Myanmar.
Read Ahmedabad Plane Crash LIVE updates **here.**
Rupani, who is from the Jain Bania community, joined an RSS shakha while he was still in school.
He later joined the RSS’ student wing – the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
He graduated from Saurashtra University with a law degree.
In 1971, Rupani was associated with the Jan Sangh.
He cut his political teeth in the Gujarat Navnirman agitation in 1974.
Rupani was jailed for a year during the during the Emergency in the Bhuj and Bhavnagar jails.
He later joined the RSS where he served as a pracharak from 1978 to 1981.
Rupani has been associated with the BJP from the party’s formation.
He initially worked in the BJP’s organisational wing, before being elected a municipal councilor in Rajkot in 1987.
He also served as mayor of Gujarat from 1996 to 1997.
It was here that he first gained popularity for his focus on infrastructure.
In 1998, Rupani was elected the BJP’s general secretary in Gujarat.
It was a position he would serve in on four occasions.
He also served as the party’s state spokesperson.
Rupani was also appointed the chairman of Gujarat tourism in 2006.
The board at this time roped in Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan to promote Gujarat as a tourism destination.
He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2006 to 2012.
Rupani fought his first Assembly election in 2014 – in which he prevailed from Rajkot West.
Rupani was inducted into the Gujarat Cabinet of Anandiben Patel and given the portfolio of transport, water supply, labour and employment.
He also briefly served as BJP president of Gujarat – from February to August 2016.
Rupani as Gujarat Chief Minister
Rupani first became a candidate for Chief Minister of Gujarat after Anandiben – the first and only woman to hold the highest post in Gujarat – quit in 2016.
Rupani was in a toss-up with Nitin Patel – until Amit Shah reportedly weighed in and convinced Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Rupani was the man for the job.
Rupani and Shah were said to be extremely close.
A senior Gujarat BJP leader told Firstpost at the time, “Amit Shah had the last laugh”.
Rupani became Chief Minister of Gujarat on February 19, 2016.
Rupani returned to the chief minister’s chair in 2017 – defeating anti-incumbency and a violent stir by the Patidars.
His political style was often described as ‘soft-spoken, calm and steady.’
Rupani would remain in the chief minister’s chair till September 2021 – when he resigned from the post.
“I am ready to serve in whichever the role the party assigns to me," Rupani said at the time.
“I want to thank BJP for giving me this opportunity to serve as Gujarat’s CM. During my tenure, I got the opportunity to add to the development of the state under PM Modi’s leadership.”
Rupani in 2022 announced he would not contest Assembly polls.
However, he was the BJP in charge for the Punjab polls.
Incidentally, this is the second time a former Gujarat Chief Minister has died in a plane accident.
Congress leader Balwantrai Mehta, the second Chief Minister of Gujarat, died in a plane crash in September 1965.
Mehta’s plane was downed by a Pakistan Air Force pilot.
Mehta, his wife, three of his staff, two crew and a journalist were also on board.
With inputs from agencies
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