Ahmedabad: Soon after the news of Air India flight AI-171 crashing in Ahmedabad broke on Thursday afternoon, the passenger list revealed that former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was among 242 people on board the Dreamliner aircraft.
There were very little chance of any survivor, going by the videos and images of the terrible accident. One person did, miraculously, survive. But Rupani wasn’t that fortunate.
Union Minister of Jal Shakti and Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil confirmed in the evening that Rupani had died in the crash.
The 68-year-old BJP leader served as Gujarat’s 16th chief minister from 2016 to 2021, after winning in the Assembly elections from Rajkot constituency.
Rupani, thus became the second sitting or former Gujarat CM to meet such a tragic fate in an air accident.
It reminded oldtimers and political veterans of an incident six decades ago, when Balwantrai Mehta was flying a Beechcraft from Ahmedabad to Mithapur when the aircraft was shot down by the Pakistani Air Force during the Indo-Pak war in September 1965.
Mehta, born in February 1900, was Gujarat’s second CM. The Congress leader took part in India’s freedom movement, and was a staunch Gandhian.
Unlike his death, Rupani was travelling to the UK on the safe and secure Dreamliner aircraft. The flight was carrying 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian national, apart from 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew members.
