Meet 106-Year-Old Shyam Saran, Who Has Voted In Every Election Since 1951

Shyam Saran Negi voted for the first time in 1951. (File)

Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh:

Mr. Shyam Saran Negi, 106 years old, the first voter of Independent India, exercised his 34th concession for the Himachal Pradesh Council elections through a postal ballot at his residence in Kinnaur district. on Wednesday.

Negi, a professional teacher from the tribal Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh exercised his 34th franchise for the 14th Vidhan Sabha election through a postal ballot at his home in Kalpa. nowadays. He cast his vote via a postal ballot for the first time.

Born in July 1917, Negi voted for the first time in 1951 in India’s general election and voted sixteen times in the Lok Sabha Election. He cast his vote in every Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and all local bodies as soon as 1951. He was also made state election icon in 2014.

Commonly known as Master Shyam Saran, the centenarian has voted in every election since 1951 and has never missed a chance to vote.

After the vote, Negi said that every citizen should vote for strengthening democratic establishment.

“Young voters should consider their duty to vote and contribute to strengthening the Nation,” he said, adding that we should feel proud of our right to vote because it helps to choose choose the right representative of the National leadership.

District elections officer and Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said a red carpet was rolled out to take him to the post office set up on his property.

Negi was taken on the red carpet to the booth where he exercised his franchise and soon his ballot was sealed in an envelope and dropped in the ballot box.

Sadiq along with returning officer cum SDM Kalpa, Major (retd) Shashank Gupta and other officers and district government officials were honored as the first voters of Independent India.

Meanwhile, as many as 5,093 people voted via postal ballot in Himachal Pradesh for the National Assembly elections. Voting by postal ballot begins November 1 and will be completed by November 11.

According to the Election Commission, in order to make the election process inclusive and ensure the participation of voters belonging to a particular category, a total of 1,70,403 Forms 12-D were issued to those over 80 years of age and older. adults, Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters and those who work in services in the state.

Elections chief (CEO) Maneesh Garg said that out of the above-mentioned forms, 43,143 were returned complete in all aspects. He said 4,330 votes from 80 plus and 763 votes from PwD were returned from across the State.

Garg added that on Wednesday, the number of postal ballots casted was 366 in Kangra, 297 in Kullu, 1991 in Mandi, 528 in Una, 838 in Bilaspur, 315 in Solan, 669 in Shimla and 89 in Kinnaur .

Himachal Pradesh is set to go to the polls on November 12, with the results to be announced on December 8.