106-year-old Shyam Saran Negi, the first voter of independent India, exercised his right to franchise for the 34th time for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections through a postal ballot at his residence.
Negi, a teacher by profession who hails from the tribal district of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh, exercised his right to franchise for the 34th time for the 14th Vidhan Sabha elections through a postal ballot at his home in Kalpa today. He cast his vote through a postal ballot for the first time. Born in July 1917, Negi voted for the first time in 1951 in the general elections of India and has voted sixteen times in Lok Sabha elections. He has voted in every Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, and all local bodies’ elections since 1951.
After casting his vote, Negi said that every citizen should vote for strengthening the democratic setup. “The young voters should consider their duty to vote and contribute to strengthening the nation,” he said, adding that we should feel proud of our voting rights as they aid choosing the right representative to lead the nation. 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.
Negi was brought on a red carpet to the booth, where he exercised his right to franchise, and soon thereafter his vote was sealed in an envelope and dropped in the ballot box.
Sadiq, along with the returning officer cum SDM Kalpa, Major (retd) Shashank Gupta and the other officers and officials of the district administration honoured the first voter of Independent India.
Meanwhile, as many as 5,093 people have cast their vote through the postal ballot in Himachal Pradesh for the assembly elections. Voting by postal ballot commenced on 1 November and will be completed before 11 November.