Free India’s First Voter Passes Away at the Age of 105

The first voter of Independent India, Shyam Saran Negi, passed away on Saturday in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. He was 105 when he breathed his last. According to officials in Kinnaur, Negi passed away of natural causes. He will be cremated with full state honours.

Negi, who registered to vote for the first time in 1952, had voted through postal ballot two days prior to the 2022 Himachal Assembly elections.

Since Kinnaur is a high-altitude region, voting during India’s first general elections in 1951–1952 could not be facilitated in the area for as long as seven months. Negi, who was 34 at the time, had cast his vote at Kalpa, becoming the country’s first voter after independence.

Negi, who was born on July 1, 1917, claims to have voted in each and every panchayat, assembly, and parliamentary election.

Jai Ram Thakur, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, offered his homage to Negi and said this centurion voter had always fulfilled his civic duty by never missing to vote.