Former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani killed in Air India crash in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was killed after the London-bound Air India plane crashed near the Ahmedabad airport soon after take-off on Thursday.

According to reports, the BJP leader was travelling to London to meet his daughter.  Earlier, senior BJP leader from Gujarat, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, confirmed that Vijay Rupani was going to London on an Air India flight.

Vijay Rupani, 68, known as a soft-spoken leader in Gujarat politics, began his career through student activism. He was imprisoned for 11 months during the Emergency. Rupani later served as a minister in the Modi-led government in Gujarat.

After Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, Anandiben Patel took over as Chief Minister. In 2016, Vijay Rupani succeeded her as the Chief Minister of Gujarat and remained in office until 2021. Following his resignation, the current Chief Minister, Bhupendra Patel, assumed office.

Rupani was the 16th Chief Minister of Gujarat. Notably, he is the second Chief Minister from the state to die in an air crash. The first was Balwantrai Mehta, Gujarat’s second Chief Minister, who was killed during an aerial attack by Pakistan in 1965, amid the India–Pakistan war.

The Air India-operated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with 242 passengers bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed into a building near Ahmedabad airport, with hundreds of passengers feared dead.

The crash occurred around 2 pm in the Meghaninagar area, close to the airport. Air India confirmed that among them were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian.