97-year-old has never missed an Indian election
Shyam Negi voted in country's first poll in 1951, and plans to do so again as 16th gets under way
A man who voted in India's first general election 63 years ago and is now, aged 97, poised to cast his ballot in the current one, has become something of a star because of his commitment to the democratic process.
Google India recently spotlighted Shyam Negi in a video called Pledge to Vote, part of a campaign urging Indians to take part in the elections. He has never missed voting in an Indian general election.
A retired schoolteacher, Negi has braved snowstorms and howling winds in the hilly region of Himachal Pradesh where he lives to make his way to the ballot box in Kalpa village.
In the video, he is shown at home, putting on a woollen jacket and cap before making his way, with a walking stick, through the snowy terrain to the ballot box.
As he approaches, waiting villagers garland him with a white scarf and greet him with drums to applaud his determination to vote.
The video has been viewed by over 1.6 million people in India and elsewhere since it was released on March 24.