West Bengal Municipal Elections Results: Hamro Party, launched 3 months ago, bags 18 wards in Darjeeling

In a major development in West Bengal elections, the Hamro Party, launched three months ago, has won 18 wards in Darjeeling. Earlier, Darjeeling was with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

Going back to November 2021, Ajoy Edwards, the proprietor of Darjeeling's famed restaurant Glenary's and a well-known philanthropist, dubbed his political party Hamro Party, promising to stay independent of state and national parties in power. Edwards and his colleagues chose four names from 122 suggestions for the new party: Jan Shakti, Janta Kalyan Party, Jan Awaaz, and Hamro Party.

At the launch, he said, "We will stay independent, but if elected, we will retain connections with all powers for the sake of the country. In the past, we had witnessed how people had to suffer as a result of our hill leaders' lack of diplomacy."

If elected, Ajoy Edwards, president of the Hamro Party, has vowed to create Rs 100 crore in revenue for the Darjeeling municipality each year, emphasising that civic authorities must not rely entirely on the state and the Centre for funding. This has been dubbed "wishful thinking" by the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatrantik Morcha (BGPM).

"Every year, 10 lakh visitors visit Darjeeling. If we can earn Rs 1,000 per visitor throughout their stay in Darjeeling, we can raise Rs 100 crore for the Darjeeling municipality," Edwards explained. Self-sufficiency in funding was a central theme of the Hamro Party's campaign, creating 32 ward committees.

According to the Hamro Party, Darjeeling municipality is one of the wealthiest municipalities in Bengal in terms of assets, and so the creation of this quantity is feasible. Edwards proposed a centre for local culture and gastronomy, museums, and tourist attractions such as skywalks as ways to raise revenue.

During the COVID era, the Hamro Party was directly involved in social activities. Members of the Hamro Party went to Toklang village in Mirik and assisted those in need. The Edwards Foundation, which the Edwards family owns, also hosted a health camp in Darjeeling, where two physicians checked on roughly 100 patients for free. In addition, members of the party began road construction work at Thokar Goan Samaj in Mirik on Wednesday, with an excavator provided by the Hamro Party. The party also enabled the treatment of nine Gopaldhara patients and even gave them free transportation.

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