Madhya Pradesh candidate goes sole-searching, and gets more blessings than he had asked for

INDORE: 'Joote khana' (being slapped with slippers) may be considered the ultimate humiliation but Congress Ratlam candidate Paras Saklecha happily got himself smacked on one cheek, and then turned the other, after going to a fakir known to bless people's souls with soles.

The fakir, in fact, blessed him rather energetically and had to be told 'bas bas, ho gaya' (that's enough). A video of the incident was shared widely on social media on Friday, voting day, though it happened on Thursday.

When TOI contacted Saklecha, he said, "He is a famous Fakir Baba, fondly called 'Abba' in the area. He lives in a Dargah on Mhow Road and is very respected. People seek to give him lungi, vest and slippers as offerings but he accepts only from very few people and throws the rest away."

A day before polling, Saklecha went to seek his blessings and took along a pair of sandals. "The Fakir Baba accepted the slippers I gave him. By slapping me with the slippers, it's his way to bless me. He has removed all the evil shadows, if any, that were upon me," the Congress candidate said.

Saklecha is contesting against BJP's billionaire MLA Chetan Kashyap. In 2008, contesting as an independent, Saklecha had won the Ratlam assembly seat, but lost to Kashyap in 2013 and finished third. Kashyap won the seat in 2018 too and is seeking re-election for a third time.