A taunt has been used to turn the tables on Opposition parties in the upcoming Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha elections in Darjeeling.

Ajoy Edwards, who runs one of the finest bakeries in town, Glenary’s, and is also the founder of the Hamro Party, has had to live with one constant taunt from his political rivals: “The tosroti party,” since the formation of the outfit last November.

Despite the taunt, the party managed to win the Darjeeling municipality within three months of its formation.

Tosroti in colloquial Nepali means bread and many believe it to be a twisted term of the word “toast”.

The Hamro Party decided to choose bread as its election symbol to turn the taunt into an advantage in the upcoming GTA elections.

“All our 45 candidates had applied for bread as the election symbol and apart from constituency number 33 in Kalimpong, all our candidates have been allotted the bread symbol,” said Samir Sharma, assistant treasurer, Hamro Party.

The “tosroti party” jab had been coined by the maverick Darjeeling MLA Neeraj Zimba, a GNLF leader who contested and won on a BJP ticket.

Zimba admitted he had coined the term after the Hamro Party was formed.

Asked if he had anything to comment after the allocation of the bread symbol, Zimba was a bit unclear. “I have nothing to say on this…. It is not a mere coincidence. They have not deliberately chosen that symbol. There is something that one can’t define,” said Zimba, who when pressed for a clearer explanation merely added that “it was politics.”

Hamro Party leader Sharma, however, said that it was a well-thought out strategy to seek for bread symbol, including taunt and humour.

The election authority provides a list of symbols to all unrecognised political parties to choose from. Recognised parties use the party’s official symbol.

Ajoy Edwards

“All our 45 candidates chose bread because we wanted a unique and an uncommon symbol that other parties would not consider,” said Sharma.

“Bread symbolises food for the masses, our leader (Ajoy) is also associated with it as the Oppositions taunt on these lines and so we thought we would also involve some humour so that people can easily connect with our symbol,” said Sharma.

Anit Thapa’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, which also taunts Ajoy’s party as tosroti party, chose and was allotted the candle symbol.

Following withdrawal of nominations, a total of 277 candidates are in the GTA polls fray from 45 constituencies this year and the number is four times the number of candidates during the first GTA polls in 2012.

During the first GTA elections only 58 candidates were in the fray. In fact, Bimal Gurung’s Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had won 28 seats uncontested.

The majority mark is 23.

Kalimpong MLA Ruden Lepcha Sada, who had filed his nomination from GTA constituency number 42, withdrew his nomination on Monday.