Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, 68, was among those who died in the Air India crash.
Union Jal Shakti minister and Gujarat BJP chief C.R. Paatil confirmed the death of the two-time chief minister. Talking to reporters in Ahmedabad, he expressed grief over his death.
Rupani was reportedly on a personal visit to meet his son, who lives in London. The list of passengers on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner confirmed Rupani as a passenger on seat number 2D.
Rupani had been out of action in the state since he was unceremoniously removed as chief minister a year ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls. The BJP leadership had, in one stroke, gone for an overhaul, dropping Rupani and his council of ministers. His current assignment was party minder of Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
The low-profile Jain community leader’s first tenure as Gujarat chief minister started in 2016, when he was the surprise pick to replace Anandiben Patel. Amit Shah, who by then had emerged as the second most powerful leader of the Narendra Modi dispensation, was learnt to have pushed for his elevation.
In the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls, the BJP managed to win narrowly under Rupani’s leadership. Despite misgivings in the party over his “weak leadership”, his closeness to Shah ensured his return as chief minister.
Allegations of administrative mismanagement during the Covid pandemic piled up against Rupani in his second term. As public anger mounted against him, the BJP leadership promptly edged him out to tackle anti-incumbency ahead of the 2022 polls.
Born in Yangon of erstwhile Burma, Rupani had moved to India as a child with his parents.
Calcutta brothers
The families of the brothers of former Gujarat chief minister Rupani — Umed and Chandu — live in Calcutta.
“We are too shocked and busy at this moment. All family members have gathered. We will go to Ahmedabad,” Umed’s son Sachin told The Telegraph on Thursday evening. The family lives in Bhowanipore.
Family friends said Chandu had passed away. His sons live in south Calcutta.
