India’s first voter dies in Himachal Pradesh; politicians pay tribute

Shyam Saran Negi, who was 106 years old, passed away days after he casted his last vote for the 34th time. Pic/ANI

India's first voter Shyam Saran Negi died on Saturday morning at his residence in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur. He was 106. On November 2, Negi had cast his vote for the state's Assembly polls through postal ballot, the Election Commission said.

Expressing his condolences at a poll rally in Mandi district's Sundarnagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "I learnt about the death of Shyam Saran Negi when I was leaving from New Delhi in the morning. The 106-year-old had voted more than 30 times in his life."

In a statement, Chief Electoral Officer, Maneesh Garg said, "Such was his commitment that he voted till the last breath of his life as he had cast his vote through postal ballot on November 2, at his home in Kalpa." "Negi was a noble human being and I pray to the almighty to give peace to the departed soul and strength to the family members to bear the irreparable loss. He will be cremated with full state honours today," the statement said.

Also Read: Congress ignored Himachal because it is small state, made false promises: Modi at Mandi rally

Popularly known as Master Shyam, he became the first voter of Indian democracy as the general polls of the country were conducted in January and February 1952. Keeping in mind snow and weather conditions, the polls were conducted in the month of October 1951 in Himachal Pradesh. Negi has participated in every Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and all local bodies' elections since 1951. Born in July 1917 in the tribal district of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh, Negi had been a state icon since 2014.

District Election Officer cum Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said that a red carpet was laid to bring him to the postal booth set up in the compound of his house, according to an official release.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever