Shyam Saran Negi
Shyam Saran Negi, born on 1 July 1917 in Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh, is a retired schoolteacher who cast the first vote in the 1951 general election in India — the nation's first election since the end of the British Raj 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.Honour
In 2010, the then Chief Election Commissioner of India, Navin Chawla, visited Negi's village to honour him as part of the Election Commission's diamond jubilee celebrations.
In 2014, Google India produced a public service announcement in which Negi told of his participation in independent India's first election, and reminded viewers of the importance of voting.
