Shyam Saran Negi, India’s First Voter, Dies; Will Be Cremated With State Honour
Days after casting his final ballot in the state’s 14th Assembly elections, the 106-year-old Shyam Saran Negi, who served as independent India’s first voter, passed away today in his hometown of Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh.
Mr. Negi was the first voter in the independent nation when he cast his ballot on October 23, 1951, at the Kalpa polling place. On November 2, this year, he cast his 34th and final ballot, an accomplishment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised.
“This is commendable and should serve as an inspiration for the younger voters to take part in the elections and strengthen our democracy,” PM Modi had tweeted.
On November 2, the 106-year-old used a postal ballot to cast her vote.
Negi’s death was lamented by Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, who said that it “will always be emotional” to remember the nation’s first voter casting his final ballot.
“Saddened to learn of the passing of Kinnaur-born Shyam Saran Negi ji, the country’s first independent voter. On November 2, while carrying out his duty, he cast his 34th postal ballot for the assembly elections; this memory will always bring tears to my eyes “Tweets from Thakur.
He concluded by praying that God would strengthen the grieving family members and bless the man’s upright soul at his feet. Amandeep Garg, the deputy commissioner of Kinnaur, stated that Mr. Negi will be cremated with a full state honor.
He was referred to as “Master Shyam” and cast his ballot in the first general elections held in India in January and February of 1952. In Himachal Pradesh, elections were held in the month of October 1951 while taking weather and snowfall into consideration. Since 1951, Negi has run in every election for the Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, and municipal bodies. Negi had been a national symbol since 2014. He was born in the Himachal Pradesh tribal district of Kinnaur in July 1917. In the Lok Sabha elections, he had cast 16 votes. The centenarian has cast a ballot in every election since 1951, according to the Chief Electoral Office of Himachal, Negi, a teacher by profession.
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