Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
Balapur Ganesh laddu auction traces its origins to 1994, when a similar offering was sold for ₹450
Hyderabad, Sept.25 (Shoukat-PMI): Thirty-five-year-old businessman Sama Praneeth Reddy, associated with Urban Reality Group, won the coveted Balapur Ganesh Laddu Prasadam at a record price of ₹39 lakh at the annual auction held here on Friday.
A resident of Vanasthalipuram, Praneeth Reddy recently returned from the United States and started his business under the name Urban Groups. He emerged the successful bidder among eight people who had registered for the auction.
The laddu had fetched ₹35 lakh last year. The record bid has once again highlighted the popularity of the Balapur Ganesh Laddu, which occupies a special place in Hyderabad’s Vinayaka Chavithi celebrations.
Devotees believe that possessing the 21-kg laddu offered to Lord Ganesha during the nine-day festivities brings good fortune, prosperity, happiness and well-being. This belief has made the annual auction a major attraction for devotees and bidders.
FROM ₹450 TO ₹39 LAKH
The Balapur Ganesh festival has a 45-year history. The Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi conducted the first laddu auction in 1994 with the objective of strengthening devotees’ faith in Lord Ganesha.
Farmer Kolanu Mohan Reddy won the first auction for ₹450. He distributed the laddu among his family members and relatives and scattered the remaining portion in his fields. Believing that Lord Ganesha had blessed his family with happiness and prosperity, he subsequently participated in the auction and won the laddu in 1998, 2004 and 2008.
For the first 15 years, the Utsav Samithi restricted participation in the auction to local residents. The auction was later opened to people from outside Balapur.
The laddu has been auctioned 31 times so far. The auction was not held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the laddu was presented to then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.
In 2024, Kolanu Shankar Reddy won the laddu for ₹30.01 lakh, while Lingala Dasharath Goud secured it for ₹35 lakh in 2025. pressmediaofindia.com)(
