Kinnaur: Shyam Saran Negi, the 105-year-old voter who has voted every single year since India gained independence, cast his vote from home for the Himachal Assembly Polls on Wednesday. The Himachal Pradesh Assembly will conduct polls on November 12. But Negi, because of his ill health, was allowed to vote before the date through the 12D form of the voting protocol.
The administration concluded Negi's voting process with a celebratory approach at his house which was decorated with pandals. District Election Officer Abid Hussain, returning Officer Shashank Gupta, and some other officers had come down to Negi's residence to conduct the voting. Like every year, Negi was insisting on visiting the polling booth to cast his vote but his health suddenly deteriorated. Considering the risks, his family asked him to vote from home this year which he agreed to do. The administration accordingly fixed his date for voting on November 2, 10 days before the polls.
Shyam Saran Negi, who cast the first vote of his life in 1951, has voted in every election so far and this is the first time that he is exercising his voting rights from home. Negi's granddaughter guided him during the process of voting as he now struggles with hearing, speaking, and walking problems due to old age.
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After casting the vote, Shyam Saran Negi spoke to the media present at his house and said voting has always been an important aspect for him as he has lived through the freedom struggle that the country had to go through to become a democracy. "Voting is like a big festival of democracy that we celebrate to mark our victory in the British freedom struggle. Every Indian has the right to choose a person who can work for the nation's development. And today I have also practiced my right by casting my vote," Negi said.
Expressing pride over the fact that an Indian citizen, even at this age, is so enthusiastic about voting, District Election Officer Abid Hussain Sadiq said, "It is a matter of pride that Mr. Negi is so keen on voting. He is not just the oldest voter in the state of Himachal Pradesh but also in the whole country. He has been a bit ill for the past few days and so we arranged for him to cast a vote from his home through form 12D. We have expressed our gratitude towards him by felicitating him with a bouquet," Sadiq said.
