For former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, the number 1206 was not just numerals — it was a personal symbol of destiny and continuity. It adorned the number plates of his vehicles, from his early scooter to the official car of the CM. But in a cruel turn of fate, June 12 (12/06), 2025, marked the day he lost his life in one of the deadliest air crashes in Indian aviation history.
Rupani, aged 68, was on Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flying from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick. The aircraft crashed minutes after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, plunging into a medical college hostel in Meghani Nagar, killing 241 people. Only one person on board survived.
Rupani, seated in 2D, was headed to London to visit his wife and daughter. His family, party colleagues, and thousands of supporters are mourning not just the suddenness of the loss, but also the eerie numerical coincidence that turned his lucky number into a day of mourning.
Photographs from his Rajkot residence still show cars bearing registration numbers ending in 1206. “Our leader and former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was going to London to meet his family. He is also a victim in this incident. May his soul rest in peace. This is a big loss for the BJP,” said Gujarat BJP president CR Patil.
From Burma to Rajkot: A Life Devoted to Public Service
Born in Rangoon (now Yangon), Burma, in 1956, Rupani’s family relocated to Rajkot during the political unrest in Southeast Asia. He entered politics as a student activist, became a municipal corporator in 1987, and steadily rose through the ranks of the BJP.
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He served as Gujarat’s 16th Chief Minister from August 2016 to September 2021, overseeing key portfolios such as transport, labour, and water supply. His resignation in 2021 was part of a leadership overhaul ahead of elections, but he remained a key adviser and strategist within the Gujarat BJP unit.
On June 12, he boarded the doomed flight that crashed just two minutes after takeoff. The plane, carrying 242 people including 169 Indian nationals, smashed into a residential wing of a medical college hostel, turning a dining hall into rubble. Eyewitnesses described the jet flying low, and videos captured moments before the fatal descent. Scattered plates and food were visible amid the debris.
A legacy cut short, Rupani’s death is not just a political loss, but a deeply symbolic one — the end of a life that believed in signs, bound by a number that turned prophetic in the worst possible way.
