Vijay Ramniklal Rupani (2 August 1956 – 12 June 2025) was an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Gujarat from 2016 to 2021. He was a representative in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly for the Rajkot West constituency from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He died in the Air India Flight 171 aviation accident.
Vijay Rupani was born on 2 August 1956, in Rangoon, Rangoon Division, Burma, to a Gujarati Sthanakwasi Jain Bania family. He was the seventh and youngest son of the couple. In 1960, his family moved to Rajkot, Gujarat, India, due to political instability in Burma. His father, Rasiklal Rupani, who had been a grain merchant in Burma, became a trader of ball bearings in Rajkot.
Vijay Rupani graduated with a BA from Dharmendrasinhji Arts College and an LLB from Saurashtra University. Active in student politics, Rupani joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindutva organisation, and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student body affiliated with the RSS. Rupani joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS or JS; often known as the Jan Sangh), a far-right political party that served as the political arm of the RSS and was the precursor to the BJP.
Political career
Rupani was the 16th chief minister of Gujarat for two terms from 2016 to 2021. 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.
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 participated in the Navnirman Andolan, a socio-political movement against economic crisis and corruption in the leadup to the Emergency. During the Emergency, he was imprisoned for 11 months and held at jails in Bhuj and Bhavnagar.
Having been a member of the RSS and the Jan Sangh, Rupani was affiliated with the BJP since its establishment in 1980. He was elected to the Rajkot Municipal Corporation in 1987, and served as the mayor of Rajkot from 1996 to 1997.
In 2006, Rupani was made general secretary of BJP’s Gujarat state unit, before he was elected as a member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha from 2006 to 2012, representing Gujarat. He served as a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 2014 to 2022, representing Rajkot West constituency.
He was inducted as a minister in the first cabinet expansion by chief minister Anandiben Patel in November 2014 and was assigned the state portfolios of Transport, Water Supply, as well as Labour and Employment. On 19 February 2016, Rupani became the BJP’s president in Gujarat, succeeding R. C. Faldu. He held the position until August 2016.
Chief Minister of Gujarat (2016–2021)
On 7 August 2016, Rupani was appointed chief minister of Gujarat by the leadership of the BJP, following the resignation of Anandiben Patel. Rupani led the BJP in the 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election, in which the party retained power and he continued as chief minister. The BJP’s election campaign was characterised by prominent usage of Hindutva themes and Islamophobic rhetoric. In March 2021, The Indian Express included Rupani in its list of the 100 most powerful people in India.
Rupani faced intense criticism for his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Gujarat emerging as one of India’s most severely affected states. In April 2021, the Gujarat High Court remarked that his government’s response to the crisis was “not satisfactory and not transparent.” On 11 September 2021, Rupani resigned from the post of chief minister. He was succeeded by Bhupendra Patel, who subsequently led the BJP to a landslide victory in the 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election.
Rupani was often characterised by political commentators as a low-profile and obedient figure, with some describing his tenure as that of a ‘proxy’ or ‘rubber-stamp’ chief minister. His administration largely continued the policies and governance style of preceding BJP-led governments in the state.
