Prime Minister >Narendra Modi’s monogrammed bandhgala suit that had kicked up a political storm was on Friday sold for Rs 4.31 crore at an auction that saw a scramble among the bidders on the final day for the two-piece ensemble.
The > pin-striped navy blue suit that Modi wore for his Summit meeting with US President Barack Obama on January 25, went to Surat—based diamond trader Lalji Patel and his son after intense bidding in the dying moments of the auction.
“The suit has been purchased for Rs. 4.31 crore by Dharmananda Diamond Company’s Lalji Patel and his son Hitesh Patel,” District Collector Rajendra Kumar announced at the close of the 3-day auction at 5 p.m.
Bids flew thick and fast in the last hour of the auction, which had no base price. District Collector, Surat, Rajendra Kumar said bids, one of Rs. 5 crore, received after the deadline had been disqualified.
The opening bid on Wednesday was for Rs. 11 lakh. The price climbed steadily through the final day as buyers gathered around a mannequin of Mr. Modi on which the suit was displayed behind a glass case.
Mr. Lalji Patel, who owns the Dharmananda Diamond Company, told presspersons that he wanted to do something for the country, and the auction gave him an opportunity.
