Independent India’s First Voter

In the first election of independent India, when parliamentary polls were held across the country in 1952, the ECI had taken a decision to conduct the election in more than one phase. Keeping in mind the harsh winter of the Kinnaur valley in Himachal Pradesh, it had advanced the polling dates to October 25, 1951 whereas the rest of the country had voted in January and February of 1952. Mules were used to carry election materials to the snow-laden interiors of Kinnaur and Shyam Saran Negi became the first Indian to cast his vote in independent India. He belonged to the Mandi-Mahasu parliamentary constituency which is now known as Mandi constituency. Remarkably since 1951, Negi has never missed casting his vote. In 2010, the then Chief Election Commissioner of India, Navin Chawla recognized this remarkable feat and visited Kalpa village to felicitate him. In 2014, Negi was appointed as the brand ambassador by Himachal Pradesh Election Commission to create awareness among the youth to be responsible citizens and exercise their democratic rights. A school teacher and a humble man who had retired in 1975, Negi became a household name after Google uploaded his video for its #Pledge to Vote Campaign during the 2014 parliamentary elections in India. There he was seen sharing his experience of braving the snow and stepping out of his home in Kalpa to cast his first vote in 1951. In 2017, the Election Commission had made special arrangements for him to cast his vote in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections. In 2019 Lok Sabha Elections too, despite being 101 years old, he has not let age deter him from his lifelong habit of exercising his preference through the ballot box.