India's first voter dies after casting his 34th vote in Himachal polls

New Delhi, Nov 05: Days after casting his vote for 34th time on November 2 for the Himachal assembly polls, Independent India's first voter Shyam Saran Negi passed away at the age of 106.

As per reports, Negi had expressed his willingness to cast vote at the booth this time also but his health was not good and so he decided to vote at home, said Deputy Commissioner Kinnaur Abid Hussain Sadiq who honoured Negi with a cap and a shawl.

Negi was a retired school teacher in Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh, who cast the first vote in the 1951 general election in India - the nation's first election since the end of the British Rule in 1947.

Although most of the polling for that first election took place in February 1952, Himachal Pradesh went to the polls five months early because the weather there tends to be inclement in February and March and heavy snowfall during that period would have make it impossible for citizens to reach the polling stations.

Negi cast the first vote on October 25, 1951. He has voted in every general election since 1951, and is believed to be India's oldest voter as well its first Shyam Saran Negi also made a special appearance in a Hindi film Sanam Re.

On Jul 01, 2022, Negi had celebrated his birthday by cutting a cake at his residence in Kalpa of tribal Kinnaur district where his family members, local villagers and administrative officials had gathered.

Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur expressed grief on the demise of 106-year-old Shyam Saran Negi, the first voter of Independent India. "Saddened to hear the news of the demise of Shyam Saran Negi Ji, the first voter of independent India and who belonged to Kinnaur," he tweeted.