HP Polls: As 100-Year-Old Electors Vote, CEC Says Large Participation A Tribute To Late Shyam Saran Negi

Himachal Pradesh Election Voting: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar honoured 1.2 lakh elderly voters in the state saying that they inspire youth to cast their votes.

New Delhi: A lot of elderly voters are stepping out in Himachal Pradesh to exercise their franchise as voting is underway for -- seats in the state.

A 105-year-old woman Naro Devi cast her voter earlier today in the Churah Assembly constituency.

Himachal Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg lauded 103-year-old Sardar Pyar Singh for displaying his "indomitable spirit and zeal" by stepping out to vote. 

"It was an honour to meet and felicitate Sardar Pyar Singh, 103 years old on International Day of elderly persons. Here, he is seen casting his vote with his same indomitable spirit and zeal," the officer said.

An 83-year-old woman voted at a polling station in Bharmaur Constituency, the farthest one in the state.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar also honoured 1.2 lakh elderly voters in the state saying that they inspire youth to cast their votes.

"I salute 1.2 lakh voters in the state who are above 80 yrs of age. Drawing inspiration from them, youth gets the opportunity to go ahead. We pay tribute to late Shyam Saran Negi, it will be a fitting tribute to him to cast votes in large numbers," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

Shyam Saran Negi, The First Voter Of Independent India

Shyam Saran Negi, the first voter of independent India from Kinnaur, cast his vote for the 34th time for the Himachal Assembly Election on November 2, days before he passed away on November 5.

Negi had cast his vote on October 25, 1951, for the first time during the first general elections that were held after Indi attained independence. He has cast his vote in every election since then. The first general elections were to be held in February 1952, but, due to heavy snowfall in Kinnaur, polling was conducted there six months earlier.

Shyam Saran Negi was a teacher at Kinnaur's Moorang School at that time and he was assigned election duty that day. He reached the polling booth station early morning while the election duty team reached at 6:15 am. Negi sought permission to vote so that he could return to polling duty and thus, he became the first voter of independent India. 

Voting Across 68 Constituencies

Voting for the crucial Himachal Pradesh elections began on Saturday at 8 am on a slow note after officials conducted a mock poll at all booths to check EVMs. The state witnessed an 18 per cent voter turnout till 11 AM, as per the approximate trends shared by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

More than 55 lakh voters in the hill state will decide the fate of 412 candidates in 68 assembly constituencies. 24 women candidates are in the fray this time.

Of the total voters, 28,54,945 are male, and 27,37,845 female voters in the state. There are 38 third gender voters. 

Himachal Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg said all arrangements are in place for the polling.

"All 7,884 polling parties have reached the polling stations and set up the polling booths. They are accompanied by security forces. Nearly 50,000 polling staff and around 25,000 security staff have been deployed," he told news agency PTI.

The voting is scheduled from 8 am to 5 pm and the Election Commission has 7,884 polling stations, including three auxiliary voting stations in far-flung areas. Of these, 789 are vulnerable booths, and 397 are critical ones.

The 2017 assembly election saw a record 75.57 per cent polling.

 It is a crucial test for the BJP hoping to beat precedent and return to power as well as for the Congress looking for electoral revival.

(With Agency Inputs)