Who was Vijay Rupani? The ‘low-profile’ and 'affable' 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.

"Our leader and former Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani, was going (to London) to meet his family. He is also a victim of this incident. May his soul rest in peace. This is a big loss for the BJP," Union Minister CR Patil told news agency PTI.

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

Who was Vijay Rupani?

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 Arts from Dharmendrasinhji Arts College and Law from Saurashtra University

A low-profile BJP leader, Rupani was known within Gujarat political circles as someone who didn’t speak much. Rupani rose through the ranks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to become Gujarat’s chief minister in 2016.

From Corporator to CM

Rupani’s political career spans several decades. He began as a corporator of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation in 1987. He went on to become Mayor of Rajkot (1996–1997), Rajya Sabha MP (2006–2012), and Gujarat state cabinet minister before becoming the chief minister in 2016.

Rupani worked as an activist of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of RSS, during his college days. He was an active participant in the Navnirman movement and was inspired by the Jai Prakash Narayan-led anti-graft movement. He joined the BJP when he was just 24.

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

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.

“Khushboo Gujarat Ki” campaign

Rupani is also known for his role as chair of the Gujarat Tourism Development Corporation in 2006, when the popular “Khushboo Gujarat Ki” campaign featuring Amitabh Bachchan was launched. In 2013, he headed the Gujarat Municipal Finance Board.

Rupani was appointed BJP president in February 2016. He succeeded Anandiben Patel as chief minister after her resignation in August 2016. Rupani is said to have addressed the internal dissent and public unrest to retain the BJP’s leadership in the state, even as its Assembly seat count dipped below 100 for the first time in years in the 2017 Gujarat assembly elections.

‘Extremely affable’

Rupani was sworn in as CM for the second time, but he resigned in September 2021, months ahead of the 2022 Gujarat assembly polls.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh recalled his ‘not infrequent’ arguments and clashes in the Rajya Sabha and the friendly conversations in the now-extinct Central Hall where the two leaders would talk about climate change, urban heat, environment, and Myanmar where he was born. 

“He was extremely affable and the aggression in the House would very often be accompanied with a smile,” Ramesh said in a post.

This is the second incident involving a sitting or former Gujarat chief minister meeting this tragic fate in an air accident, a tragic echo of Balwantrai Mehta’s death six decades ago.

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.