Chandigarh, June 13 -- Former Gujarat chief minister and BJP Punjab in-charge Vijay Rupani, who died in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday, had deferred his visit to London twice because of the upcoming Ludhiana West assembly bypolls.

Rupani, who left Ludhiana on June 9, was first supposed to travel to London with his wife on June 1, but later deferred his visit and sent his wife to London, where their daughter is staying.

Senior Punjab BJP leaders said Rupani again planned his London visit on June 5, but keeping in view the sensitivity of the Ludhiana West bypolls, he deferred his visit for a few more days in order to stay in Ludhiana to oversee the party's preparedness for the bypolls.

"Finally, he left for Gujarat on...