From Sanjay Gandhi to Vijay Rupani

AHMEDABAD: Plane crashes in the country have not been kind to political leaders either. The list goes from Sanjay Gandhi to Vijay Rupani.

• Sanjay Gandhi - Congress leader and Indira Gandhi's younger son died in a plane crash on June 23, 1980. A certified pilot, Sanjay lost control of the machine while flying in Delhi and crashed.

• Madhavrao Scindia - The death of senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Madhavrao Scindia shocked the country. On September 30, 2001, the plane carrying Madhavrao Scindia crashed in a field near Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh. Eight people, including four journalists, died. The accident was due to bad weather.

• General Bipin Rawat - General Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash while serving as the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The accident took place near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021.

• Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy - Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash on September 3, 2009. The helicopter that crashed in the Nallamala forest area was found after a 24-hour search.

• G.M.C. Balayogi - Lok Sabha Speaker and TDP leader G.M.C. Balayogi died in a helicopter crash in Andhra Pradesh on March 3, 2002. The pilot and Balayogi's staff didn't survive either.

• Dorji Khandu - Dorji Khandu died in a helicopter crash while he was serving as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. The accident took place near Sela Pass on April 30, 2011.

• Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam - Congress leader Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam died in a plane crash in Delhi in 1973. His body was identified by recognizing the Parker pen he used.

• Haryana ministers O.P. Jindal and Surender Singh were killed when their King Cobra helicopter crashed near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh in 2005.

• The death of South Indian actress Soundarya in a plane crash in April 2004 shocked both the political and film milieu. The accident occurred five minutes after takeoff from the Jakkur airstrip in Bengaluru. She was only 32 years old and was on her way to Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh to campaign for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Soundarya was pregnant at the time of the incident.