Mumbai: 

Full circle: NCP leader Ajit Pawar's son Parth gives the phone to Subhash Mayekar, a trustee of Siddhivinayak temple, yesterday. The temple trustees will soon decide on the date to re-auction it.

The Motorola handset that was auctioned for over Rs 15.5 lakh was returned to Siddhivinayak temple yesterday. The phone, originally donated by a devotee will now be auctioned again for charity.

After winning the bid for the phone, Pratap Sarnaik, the NCP corporator from Thane, gifted it to fellow party corporator Ajit Pawar on his birthday.

However, Pawar decided to return it to the temple's trust for re-auction, after keeping it with him for a week. "Pawar kept the phone like an offering to God. He returned it so that it could be re-auctioned to raise funds for the needy," one of Pawar's associate said.

Sarnaik said, "I had gifted it to Pawar and it was up to him to decide what to do with it. I had bid for the phone only because I have immense faith in God."

When questioned whether he would bid again for the handset, Sarnaik said, "I have run out of my budget for this year. I will try again next year."

Meanwhile, the Siddhivinayak temple authorities said they will soon decide the date for re-auctioning the handset. "The funds raised from the auction will be used as per Pawar's wishes," a temple's trustee said.