Article Title: Shyam Saran Negi
05-11-2022
Polity & Governance Current Affairs Analysis
Why is in news? Independent India's first voter Master Shyam Saran Negi passes away at 106; State CM, ECI, I&B Minister & others express grief
The country's first voter 106-year old Master Shyam Saran Negi passed away this morning, November 5, after a prolonged illness. He was a resident of Kalpa in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
Shyam Saran Negi, (born 1 July 1917) 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.
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