Ajoy Edwards, the owner of Glenary’s — one of Darjeeling’s most iconic bakeries — had a simple but pointed idea for his party’s Assembly election campaign: contest on the symbol of a bread.
For Edwards, the bread was never just a symbol. When he founded the Hamro Party in 2021, political rivals mockingly called it the “tosroti party” — tosroti being the colloquial Nepali word for bread, a jibe at his bakery roots. Rather than shy away from the taunt, Edwards embraced it. His party went on to win the Darjeeling municipality election just three months after its formation. In the 2022 Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) elections, he doubled down, adopting the bread as an official symbol — and won his seat in the Darjeeling Sadar-II constituency.
This time, as chief convener of the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF), Edwards wanted all his candidates to carry the bread symbol into the Assembly election. Four of them — contesting from Kalimpong, Kurseong, Siliguri, and Matigara-Naxalbari — were allotted it. Edwards, contesting from Darjeeling, was not.
The reason lies in a procedural quirk. Since the IGJF is not yet a registered party, its candidates are classified as independents by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Independent candidates must submit three symbol preferences from the ECI’s list of free symbols.
When another independent candidate from Darjeeling, Jatin Gurung, also listed the bread as his preference, the two picked ballots — and Edwards lost. He was instead allotted the symbol of a pen nib with seven rays.
Ajoy Edwards, Darjeeling IGJF election symbol Pen Nib with Seven Rays
The irony is stark. Glenary’s has been feeding the hill town for well over a century. It traces its origins to around 1885, when an Italian family opened a confectionery store called Vado. The Italian founder was a good singer — mornings were for baking, evenings for music — and his bakery was an instant hit. The place changed hands several times after Indian independence, passing through a Patna-based businessman before A.T. Edwards, a Darjeeling local who had been working there since 1945, was offered the role of manager in 1959. His family later bought the property. Today, Ajoy Edwards carries forward his forefathers’ legacy.
It is a legacy worth carrying. Glenary’s is counted among the oldest eateries in the hill station — and in the country — known for its teas and pastries. Hotels and restaurants across Darjeeling buy their bread from Glenary’s. The building’s ground floor bakery, with its aroma of fresh cakes and muffins, a vintage red telephone booth at its centre and a balcony overlooking the valley, has become as much a part of Darjeeling’s identity as the tea estates on its slopes.
Edwards was not the only candidate caught off-guard by symbol logistics this election. Anit Thapa’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) spent nearly two months campaigning on a candle symbol, only to discover — just a day before filing nominations — that the candle was not available as a free symbol for this election. The party was forced to overhaul all its publicity materials at the last minute.
For Edwards, however, the irony cuts deeper. The bread that once defined his political journey — forged from mockery, validated by victories — was taken from him not by an opponent, but by a chit of paper.