No Congress candidate for Delhi University Teachers Association top post

With no Cong-supported nominee in fray, it’s a straight battle between left-wing and right-wing politics for prez post
The Modi factor could impact the DUTA polls in 2019 | Express
The Modi factor could impact the DUTA polls in 2019 | Express

NEW DELHI: NO Congress-supported candidate is contesting the president’s post in the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) elections this year, resulting in a straight fight between left-wing and right-wing politics in the varsity.

Will this dampen the prospects of the Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections? Not so, says senior party leader Kiran Walia. She said that the party didn’t want to divide secular forces and so chose to keep away from the DUTA polls.

While Indian National Teachers Congress (INTEC) is the official Congress teachers group at DU, Academics for Action and Development (AAD) supports its ideology.

In the previous election in 2017, AAD supported University Teachers Forum (UTF), while INTEC hasn’t fielded presidential candidates in the past three elections.

ALSO READ: Won’t support fascist forces, we still hold our own at Delhi University, says Congress leader Kiran Walia

Academic Council Member Rasal Singh, even though DUTA is a teachers’ body, its issues are “of utmost importance”.

“The Modi factor will impact this election too and the outcome will impact the Assembly elections as the DUTA election reflects the mood of the intellectuals,” he said.

AAD chairperson Aditya Misra said that he agreed to support INTEC in a meeting with Delhi Congress officials, but there was no response. “We kept waiting for their candidate. Meanwhile, we lost time. This is unfortunate,” he said.

“We were pioneers in demanding the absorption of ad-hocs. This wasn’t taken seriously. Let teachers decide their vote,” he stressed.

The INTEC has fielded three candidates for the 15-member Executive Council-Vivek Chaudhary, sitting secretary in DUTA, Udayvir, teacher of electronics at Acharya Narendra Dev College, and Pradeep Kumar, history teacher at Zakir Husain College.

‘INTEC didn’t respond to our support offer’

AAD chairperson Aditya Misra said that he agreed to support Indian National Teachers Congress (INTEC),  the official Congress teachers group at DU, in a meeting with Delhi Congress officials, but there was no response.

“We kept waiting for their candidate. Meanwhile, we lost time. This is very unfortunate,” the AAD chairperson said.

INTEC nominees:

INTEC has fielded three candidates for the 15-member Executive Council — Vivek Chaudhary, secretary, DUTA, Udayvir, teacher of electronics at Acharya Narendra Dev College, and Pradeep Kumar, history teacher at Zakir Husain College

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com