No presidential candidate from Congress for upcoming DUTA election

After suffering two consecutive defeats, the Congress' teachers unit, Indian National Teachers Congress (INTEC) has decided not to field any presidential candidate in the upcoming Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) elections for the 2017-2019 term.

"We have decided not to field any presidential candidate. The decision has been taken by the INTEC members keeping in mind our poor performance in last year's election," said a senior Congress leader, who did not wish to be named.

"We, however, will focus on getting a majority in the Executive Committee and work for the cause of teachers in DU," he added.

In 2015, Nandita Narain, the presidential candidate of the Left-affiliated Democratic Teachers' Front (DTF) had won the election, bagging 2,390 out of total 6,068 votes polled followed by the BJP-backed National Democratic Teachers' Front (NDTF) candidate V S Negi, who got 2,165 votes. INTEC candidate Sanjay Kumar had won only 536 votes.

The election for the office of president and 15 members of the executive committee for 2017-2019 will be conducted on August 31. DUTA is a teachers' representative body of the teachers of Delhi University.

The elections for its office bearers are conducted every two years.

"By not fielding a presidential candidate, INTEC has already accepted their defeat. It clearly shows that they don't have teachers support at the campus," said AK Bhagi, NDTF president and assistant professor at Dyal Singh College.

INTEC president Ashwini Shankar, however, denied the claims and said the decision had been taken to avoid electoral division. "By not fielding any presidential candidate we have not accepted any defeat. The decision has been taken in a bid to avoid electoral division. The Opposition will soon realise our motive behind the move," he said.

"We will support whosoever will get elected and work for the regularisation of ad-hoc teachers, promotion and pension of permanent teachers among other issues," said Surendra Kumar, general secretarym INTEC and a candidate for DUTA's Executive Committee.