Hansraj College has announced attendance incentives and appreciation certificates for students who vote in the 2026-27 Students’ Union elections, joining a growing list of DU colleges using such measures to boost turnout.
Hansraj College has announced a set of incentives to encourage student participation in its Students’ Union Election, scheduled for 18 September 2026 (Friday). In an official notice dated 15 September 2026, Election Officer Dr. Rachna Sharma stated that the college will award 8 bonus attendance to all students who cast their vote, along with appreciation certificates for participating voters. The college has also set up a “Selfie Point” for students to commemorate their vote after casting it.
The notice, addressed to the student body, calls on students to “exercise their right to vote and contribute to the democratic process of the college.”
Hansraj isn’t alone in using attendance and recognition-based incentives to drive election turnout. Similar measures have surfaced at other Delhi University colleges in past years, though the scale has varied, and voter turnout for college-level union elections has historically been inconsistent across campuses, often prompting administrations to experiment with such incentives.
At Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, students received 5 days of bonus attendance for voting last year, and a dedicated “Pink Booth” was set up to ensure the security and convenience of all female voters. Miranda House’s incentive was comparatively modest, with attendance benefits limited to the day of voting itself. At Motilal Nehru College, the practice was less formalised—some teachers reportedly granted attendance for three classes to students who voted, rather than it being a college-wide policy.
With Hansraj’s 8-day offer among the more generous incentives seen so far this election season, the move is likely to renew conversations around whether such measures are necessary to ensure democratic participation on campus, or whether they risk reducing voting to a transactional exercise.
Aamna Rehman
Image Source: The Hindu
Image Caption: Students voting at DUSU Election Polling Booth at Delhi University
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