Guess which item had the most takers from Narendra Modi's auctioned mementos

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mementos auction was a huge success. The auction was launched on his birthday, 17 September, and ended on Wednesday (13 October).The highest bid item, the badminton racket autographed by Thomas Cup Championship 2022 Gold medallist K Srikanth, was sold for a whopping Rs 51 lakh.The auction was originally scheduled to end on 2 October but was extended till 12 October, according to a report by CNBC TV18.Let’s take a closer look at the key takeaways of the auction.This year's highest-bid itemsThe auction featured a range of items that were gifted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by both the common man and renowned sportspersons and politicians.The official website of PM Mementos says that the highest bid item of this year is a badminton racquet used and autographed by gold medallist K Srikanth, who represented India at Thomas Cup Championship 2022. The base price of the racquet was valued at Rs 5 lakh. It went through as many as 214 bidding offers.It is a black racquet having a white grip with a quote saying, ‘Thank you sir for your support’, written with a marker preserved inside the black velvet sling bag.[caption id="attachment_11448511" align="alignnone" width="640"]

Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption]The second-highest bidding item was a T-shirt autographed by Manish Narwal, the gold medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It is a white and blue coloured shirt with the logo of the Paralympic Committee of India along with the national flag. The T-shirt was sold for Rs 50.25 lakh.Next on the list of highest bidding items was another T-shirt autographed by para powerlifters Sudhir, Manpreet Kaur and Paramjeet Kumar. Sold for Rs 50.2 lakh, the base price of the apparel was Rs 5 lakh.About the e-auctionThe e-auction is organised by the Ministry of Culture. The auction was launched on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 72^nd birthday.The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in New Delhi hosted the auction. As many as 1,200 items were exhibited at the venue. From a graphite miniature of Mahatma Gandhi to a T-shirt signed by the 2022 Commonwealth team, were open for public viewing.The bidding price of all items ranged between Rs 100 to over Rs 1 crore. According to a report by India Today, a photo of Lord Ganesha from Karnataka had a base price of Rs 100.This year’s auction was the fourth edition of a series of successful auctions since its inception.The proceedings of the auction will go to the Namami Gange Programme, the project that seeks to conserve and rejuvenate River Ganga.Last year’s highest-bid itemsThe PM Mementos website says that the highest bid item last year was the javelin used by Neeraj Chopra at the Tokyo Olympic Games of 2020. With a base or starting price of Rs 1 crore, the javelin – which got Chopra his gold medal -- was sold at Rs 1.5 crore. According to the website, it received five bids before being sold to the highest bidder.The neon-yellow javelin was presented by Neeraj Chopra to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It also included the autograph of the gold medallist himself.The second-highest bid item was the sword or fence used by CA Bhavani Devi at the Olympics of 2020. It was sold for Rs 1.25 crore after receiving a single bidding offer. Bhavani is the first Indian fencer to ever qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics. According to the website, the handle of the sabre is red coloured, and on the sabre guard, a signature of Bhavani along with wishes have been signed.Another javelin which was used by Paralympic gold medallist Sumit Antil, with a base price of Rs 1 crore, received a bid of Rs 1,00,25,000 after going through three bidding offers. The third-highest bid item, the javelin is coloured neon yellow with aqua blue stripes running along the body with a rubber strap at the centre to hold with a better grip. The autographed javelin was presented by Sumit Antil to the prime minister.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.