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 June 9, and had informed all of us that he will be travelling to London on June 11. We can't believe that he is no more and was part of the ill-fated flight that crashed on Thursday," said Subhash Sharma, senior vice-president of the Punjab BJP unit. As Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar was keeping himself away from the routine party functioning for the past few months, Rupani was single handedly leading the party in Punjab. "Extremely saddened and heartbroken to learn that Vijay Rupani ji was on board the ill-fated Air India plane which crashed in Ahmedabad today. His contributions as Gujarat chief minister would be cherished forever. He was a humble and compassionate human being and a grass-roots leader. I have had the lucky fortune of being associated with him as he was in-charge of Punjab BJP. He was a real 'gentleman politician'. Not only Gujarat has lost a great leader in him but it is a personal loss for me, as I found his gentle and soft demeanour so endearing. His sagacity and simplicity in public life will be missed," Jakhar said. BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said Rupani's demise is an unspeakable tragedy. Rupani was appointed BJP in-charge for Punjab in September 2023. Leaders across party lines, including Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, former Punjab chief minister and senior BJP leader Amarinder Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, state Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu, condoled Rupani's death....