he was not a political figure. Contest In response, a fly-sheet in favour of Nehru was published on Wednesday 25 October, said to be a spontaneous reaction against the suggestion of Tedder, and it was said that it started with well over 100 signatures. Those supporting Nehru argued that support in him would show how highly the "virtues of peace" were valued, and noted that almost all the names supporting Tedder were very senior figures. When nominations closed, there were a total of 333 names nominating Tedder and 153 nominating Nehru. Some well-known Cambridge graduates supported the Nehru campaign, including Bertrand Russell, E. M. Forster, R. A. Butler and Lord Mountbatten. The date of election was set for 10 November and the hours of polling were extended into the evening in anticipation of heavy participation by members of the Senate; as every recipient of a Master of Arts degree was a member of the Senate, and Cambridge raised every graduate to this degree six years after matriculation, almost every Cambridge graduate was eligible to vote. Some concern was raised by Varsity that the announcement of the election procedure specified that the names of voters, and the candidate for whom they had voted, would be published. The announcement had said this was "in accordance with ancient custom" but it was noted that the regulations had not been altered since the introduction of the secret ballot for Parliamentary elections. It was later speculated that the reason for announcing that votes would be published was to intimidate senior members who were planning to vote for Nehru. On behalf of Nehru, a circular was sent to all Masters of Arts and transport was said to be being arranged from London and Oxford, as all votes had to be cast in person. One letter in Varsity regretted the contested election and pointed out Nehru's supporters' wish to further Anglo-Indian understanding would be undermined if Nehru was defeated and the election "attracted the attention of racial or political propagandists". Nehru withdraws The High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, V. K. Krishna Menon, was notified that a delegation would be arriving on 23 October to report their desire to nominate Nehru. He sent a telegram to Nehru, mistakenly referring to the vacant office as that of the Vice-Chancellor, and commenting that opinion within the University was in Nehru's favour. Nehru cabled back on the following