BJP fights over Modi's chair; bid touches Rs 4 lakh

The bid to purchase the chair on which Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi sat during the Agra rally has gone up to Rs 4.21 lakh even as senior leaders said the practice was against party's culture.

BJP corporator Pramod Upadhyaya, who provided the furniture during the rally, said the latest bid that he has received is of Rs 4.21 lakh from a local dealer despite him refusing to sell the chair.

A BJP leader from Etah too has made a bid of Rs 3 lakh to purchase the chair, he said.

Upadhyaya, a BJP member of the Agra municipal corporation, said he had no intention to sell the chair and that he would like to keep the "coveted possession".

On being contacted, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpai said the matter should be put to an end, as "seats were not sold in the party, one has to work to get it".

Senior BJP leader Purushottam Khandelwal said that the practice of bidding for chairs was against the culture of the party and that it was the media, which had hyped the issue.

The bidding began after a party worker asked the contractor to sell him some of the chairs used in the function.

On being refused, the worker offered to pay Rs 2,000 for the particular chair on which the Gujarat's chief minister had sat on during his 'Vijay Shankhnad' rally in Agra.

The incident influenced other party functionaries as well to quote high prices for the chair.