Shyam Saran Negi, the first voter of independent India died early Saturday morning aged 106. Seen as an icon of Indian democracy, Negi exercised his right to franchise for the 34th time for the 14th Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections scheduled to be held on November 12. He cast his vote through postal ballot for the very first time at his residence in Kalpa on November 2.
Born in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on July 1, 1917, Shyam Saran Negi grew to be a man with faith in the democratic structure of India. Negi began his schooling at the age of 10. After completing his primary education from Kalpa, Negi went to Rampur for further education which was a three-day journey on-foot from his residence. He studied till class 9th in Rampur but failed to get admission in 10th as he was overage. From 1940 to 1946, Shyam Saran Negi worked as a forest guard in the forest department. He later joined the education department as a teacher in the Kalpa Lower Middle School.
Negi cast his vote on 25th October 1951 for the first time during the first general elections that were held after British rule. He has cast his vote in every election since then. The first general elections were supposed to be held in February 1952, but, due to heavy snowfall in Kinnaur, elections were held five months earlier in October 1951. 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 asked permission to vote so that he can return to his duty and thus he became the first voter of independent India.
Notably, Shyam Saran Negi wanted to cast his vote by visiting the polling booth this time also but due to his health conditions, he had to use the ballot. He has voted in the Lok Sabha elections 16 times since 1951 and was the election icon of Himachal Pradesh since 2014. He also made a special appearance in the Hindi film Sanam Re.
The Election Commission of India mourned the demise of Negi on Twitter saying, “Not just first voter of Independent India, but a man with exceptional faith in democracy. ECI mourns the demise of Shyam Saran Negi. We are eternally grateful for his service to the Nation”. According to Deputy Commissioner, Kinnaur, Negi will be cremated with full state honour, reported ANI.
Voting by postal ballot commenced on 1 November and will be completed by November 11. The Himachal assembly election will be held in a single phase on November 12, while the counting of votes for the Himachal Pradesh assembly election will take place on December 8.
(With Inputs From Jagwinder Patial)