First voter of independent India Shyam Saran Negi, 106, passes away

Shimla: Shyam Saran Negi, 106, the first voter of independent India and the oldest voter in the country, passed away at his home at Kalpa village in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday just days after he cast a postal vote for the assembly election.

The last vote on November 2 was his 34th since he began voting in India's first general election. (The Himachal Pradesh assembly election is scheduled for November 12 and postal balloting has already commenced.)

A resident of erstwhile Chini village, now known as Kalpa, located at a height of around 10000 feet, Negi had made history by becoming first voter of Independent India on October 25, 1951.

At that time Mandi parliamentary constituency was known as Mandi-Mahasu parliamentary constituency.

A retired school teacher, Negi was born on July 1, 1917, according to his official records.

Considering the harsh winters and early snowfall, a decision was taken to hold the voting in Kinnaur on October 25, 1951, while elections were held in other parts of the country in January and February, 1952. Then election material was carried to the polling station of Kinnaur on mules, where Shyam Saran Negi was the first person to cast his vote in the first-ever parliamentary polls in the Republic of India. 

Negi was a school teacher then and was put on election duty, due to which he reached his polling booth at the Kalpa Primary School in Kinnaur at 7 am and was the first person to cast his vote.

Since 1951, Negi has never skipped casting his vote. Then chief election commissioner of India Navin Chawla in 2010 visited Kalpa village to felicitate Negi. In 2014, Himachal Pradesh state election commission appointed him as their brand ambassador to create awareness among young voters to participate in the electoral system. 

He became globally famous after Google uploaded his video during the 2014 parliamentary polls. In the video, he narrated the story of October 25, 1951, when he walked towards the polling station despite heavy snowfall. 

Negi also said whether snow or rain he had always made it a point to cast his vote. In 2014 parliamentary elections, Kinnaur district administration had accorded him a red carpet welcome at the polling booth.

Negi has also made a special appearance in Hindi film "Sanam Re".