• Shyam Saran Negi believed to be the first voter in India’s first general election following independence from British rule.
• Retired teacher has cast a ballot in every election since 1951.
• Mr. Negi passed away on Saturday at the age of 105. He will be cremated with full state honors.

The “first voter in India” has passed away at the age of 105. The first voter in India’s first general election following its independence from British rule is believed to have been Shyam Saran Negi.

Since then, Mr. Negi has cast a ballot in every election.

Just three days before to his passing on Saturday, the centenarian had voted in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

Because his state opened voting locations five months early in 1951 for the 1952 election in order to prevent significant snowfall, the retired teacher is believed to be the first individual to cast a ballot in an independent India.

After nearly a century of British colonial rule, from 1848 to 1947, the Indian National Congress won by a landslide margin, and Jawaharlal Nehru was elected as India’s first democratically elected prime minister.

When Mr. Negi cast his postal ballot ahead of the election on November 12th, officials from the Electoral Commission rolled out the red carpet for him earlier this week.

According to Indian media, Mr. Negi chose to mail his ballot this election because of poor health, marking it as the first time he has skipped a polling place.

In an effort to promote voting, Mr. Negi was appointed brand ambassador for the Electoral Commission in 2014. He also appeared in a Google video urging people to cast ballots in the general election that year.

The Tribute daily in India claimed that Mr. Negi issued a statement asking young people to vote as he posted his papers on Wednesday.

It is not only our right, but also our duty to engage in elections by using our right to vote, he was reported as saying. “Youth should come forward to participate in the democratic process,” he added.

On Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Mr. Negi while speaking at an election rally. He will be cremated at his village in Kalpa with full state honors, according to the authorities.

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