Modi Suit sells for $700,000

A diamond trader from Narendra Modi's home state yesterday won the bidding for the personalised pinstriped suit the Indian prime minister wore to meet Barack Obama, tendering nearly $700,000 at a charity auction.

The bespoke wool suit with the words "Narendra Damodardas Modi" woven into the pinstripe proved a hot ticket at the three-day auction, sparking a bidding war that pushed the price up to 43.1 million rupees ($692,000).

The suit was among more than 450 lots put up for auction by Modi in the city of Surat in his home state of Gujarat.

Modi has won a reputation as a fashion icon for his sometimes daring sartorial choices.

But wearing a suit with his own name on it was seen by many as a step too far, drawing accusations of narcissism -- possibly the reason Modi decided to sell it off.

The money raised will go towards cleaning up the holy Ganges river -- a pet project of India's Hindu nationalist prime minister.