Seventy-five per cent of the teaching fraternity at Delhi University turned up to vote for the Academic and Executive Council, elections to which were held here on Thursday.
“The poll per cent for the AC was marginally higher than the EC. The results for the EC will be out by Friday, whereas the AC will take around three days,” said DU Registrar Alka Sharma.
There were a total of 43 polling centres in the colleges and departments in the university’s North, South and other centres. About two seats in the EC and around 26 in the AC are up for grabs.
Teachers’ associations’ as well as independent candidates were in the fray and campaigning had begun months in advance for the highest decision making bodies in the university.
Posters in staff-rooms aside, campaigning was mostly through word of mouth, personal contact and through the social media. “I started getting emails from many professors. The email will have detailed information on the activities that the professor takes part in, his agenda and of course an appeal to vote for him, if that professor doesn’t know me, then the email will also have an introduction from someone I know already,” said Bipin Tiwari, a political science teacher.
Many of the candidates had gone around every college, visiting each staff room and appealing for votes. Any known face in and around the campus soon became friendly. “ I was having a coffee in one of those shops in Kamala Nagar Market when a candidate approached me, introduced himself, spoke nicely and let information on his polling number,” said one biology professor.