The 2023 count in Samri (ST) produced a clear result: Udheshwari Paikra of the BJP won with 83,483 votes, while Vijay Paikra of the INC finished second with 69,540. The winning margin was 13,943 votes. Anand Tigga of the BSP was third with 5,034 votes and NOTA recorded 4,981. Election Commission records list 218,557 electors and turnout at 83.93%. The five-year comparison matters because the 2018 winner was Chintamani Maharaj of the INC, making 2023 a change in the winning party.

The margin that separated winner and runner-up

At the centre of the result were the 83,483 votes polled by Udheshwari Paikra and the 69,540 received by Vijay Paikra. Their separation of 13,943 votes decided the seat. Using the turnout and electorate as a broad denominator, about 183,435 voters participated; the winner’s total is roughly 45.5% of that base and the runner-up’s about 37.9%. The certified candidate totals, rather than these calculated percentages, remain the primary result figures.

The third-place vote added another layer

The third-place number adds another layer. Anand Tigga received 5,034 votes, about 2.7% of the approximate turnout base. That does not establish where those voters would have gone in a different contest, but it does show that the 2023 result cannot be reduced to only the top two candidates. The third-place vote was a real and measurable part of the constituency’s count.

2018 vs 2023: how the result changed in five years

In 2018, Chintamani Maharaj of the INC won Samri (ST) with 80,620 votes and Sidhnath Paikra of the BJP was runner-up with 58,697. The margin then was 21,923 votes. By 2023, the margin stood at 13,943. Placing the two elections side by side therefore shows changes in the leading candidates, the volume of votes and the distance between first and second place.

What changed at party level

The party outcome also changed: the INC held the seat after the 2018 count, while the BJP won it in 2023. The official result cannot by itself establish a single cause for that shift, but it does establish the change in representation and the new vote distribution. That is the most defensible way to describe the five-year movement in Samri (ST).

Turnout and the size of the electorate

Turnout provides the scale around those numbers. With 218,557 electors and 83.93% turnout, roughly 183,435 people voted. Turnout alone does not identify which party benefited, but it shows the size of the electorate within which a margin of 13,943 votes was produced.

The official NOTA count

NOTA received 4,981 votes. It is recorded as a separate option and should not be reassigned to any candidate in a hypothetical calculation. For the historical result, the decisive figures remain the candidate totals and the certified margin between first and second place.

Three numbers that define the constituency result

For Samri (ST), in Balrampur-Ramanujganj district, the result is best understood through three candidate totals: Udheshwari Paikra at 83,483, Vijay Paikra at 69,540 and Anand Tigga at 5,034. Set beside the 2018 Chintamani Maharaj versus Sidhnath Paikra contest, these figures provide a straightforward account of how the seat’s electoral order changed over five years. Claims about caste, community or booth-level behaviour would require separate evidence and are not inferred from the aggregate result.

A fixed 2023 baseline for later comparisons

The 2023 result is a historical record, not a forecast. Any later comparison can return to the same fixed baseline: winner 83,483, runner-up 69,540, third candidate 5,034, NOTA 4,981, turnout 83.93% and margin 13,943.

2018 vs 2023 Result Comparison

The statewide backdrop to the constituency result

Across the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly in 2023, the BJP won 54 seats, the Congress 35 and the Gondwana Gantantra Party one. Election Commission party-performance data records 7,234,968 votes for the BJP and 6,602,586 for the Congress statewide. Samri (ST) was one part of that larger election, but its constituency result had its own count: Udheshwari Paikra of the BJP led with 83,483 votes and Vijay Paikra of the INC followed with 69,540. Statewide seat totals do not substitute for constituency-level evidence; the seat result is determined by the votes recorded in Samri (ST).

From the 2018 backdrop to the 2023 count

In the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly election, Congress won 68 seats and the BJP 15. In Samri (ST), Chintamani Maharaj of the INC won that year with 80,620 votes, while Sidhnath Paikra of the BJP was second with 58,697. Five years later, the statewide balance of seats changed and the constituency produced a fresh count. The comparison establishes what changed in the official record; it does not by itself explain voter motives or prove a single cause for the shift.

Vote totals across 2018 and 2023

Putting the leading totals side by side sharpens the story. The 2018 winner, Chintamani Maharaj, had 80,620 votes; the 2023 winner, Udheshwari Paikra, recorded 83,483. The 2018 runner-up, Sidhnath Paikra, had 58,697, compared with 69,540 for 2023 runner-up Vijay Paikra. These are not direct “vote transfers” because candidates, electorate size, turnout and campaign conditions can change. They are, however, certified totals that show how the numerical shape of the contest moved from one election to the next, including a margin that changed from 21,923 to 13,943 votes.

The story told by the winning margin

The 13,943-vote margin is the central distance in the 2023 result. It was produced within an electorate of 218,557 and turnout of 83.93%. The 2018 margin had been 21,923 votes. A larger or smaller margin is a factual description of the distance between first and second place, not a standalone measure of political strength. Explaining why a margin changed would require campaign, booth-level or survey evidence beyond the aggregate result.

Third place and the votes outside the top two

Anand Tigga received 5,034 votes and NOTA 4,981, showing that the Samri (ST) count extended beyond the two leading candidates. The third-place total was smaller than the winning margin. That comparison helps describe the structure of the result, but it does not imply that those votes belonged to either leading candidate in a hypothetical two-way contest. The certified result records each choice separately, and this article keeps those categories separate.

The 2023 timeline from polling to counting

Samri (ST) was among the Chhattisgarh constituencies that voted on 17 November 2023, with counting and declaration of results on 3 December. Votes cast through EVMs and eligible postal ballots formed the final official count. Against turnout of 83.93% and an electorate of 218,557, Udheshwari Paikra reached 83,483 votes, Vijay Paikra finished on 69,540, and the distance between them settled at 13,943. Once the result was declared, those figures became the constituency’s certified 2023 electoral record and the basis for any later historical comparison.

Votes recorded beyond the top two candidates

The winner and runner-up together received 153,023 votes. Against approximate participation of 183,435, a substantial part of the count was therefore recorded outside the top two as well, including 5,034 for Anand Tigga, 4,981 for NOTA and votes for other candidates. This matters because the constituency was not a ballot containing only two choices. Those votes cannot be reassigned to one side after the fact; each candidate and NOTA was a separate choice in the certified count, and the final ranking reflects those actual choices.

How representation changed between 2018 and 2023

Chintamani Maharaj was elected from Samri (ST) in 2018; Udheshwari Paikra won in 2023. The five-year comparison is more than a change of names because the scale of the vote also moved. The 2018 winner had 80,620 votes and the runner-up 58,697, while the leading 2023 totals were 83,483 and 69,540. The margin changed from 21,923 to 13,943. That makes 2023 a new reference point in the constituency’s electoral history, with candidate, party, turnout, vote totals and margin all available for later comparison.

The clearest conclusion from the result

Four points can be stated from the Samri (ST) result without adding speculation. First, Udheshwari Paikra won with 83,483 votes. Second, Vijay Paikra was runner-up with 69,540, leaving a margin of 13,943. Third, Anand Tigga received 5,034 and NOTA 4,981, confirming a measurable vote outside the top two. Fourth, compared with the 2018 Chintamani Maharaj versus Sidhnath Paikra result, the 2023 count established a new leading order. Explaining motives, community-level behaviour or a future election would require separate evidence; the strongest foundation for a 2023 result story is the verified count itself.

Why the 2018 comparison matters for this seat

The comparison is especially useful because it prevents the 2023 result from being viewed in isolation. In 2018, Chintamani Maharaj led the count with 80,620 votes and Sidhnath Paikra followed with 58,697; in 2023 the corresponding leading positions were occupied by Udheshwari Paikra with 83,483 and Vijay Paikra with 69,540. The constituency itself also had a larger 2023 electorate of 218,557, so raw vote totals should be read together with turnout rather than treated as percentages of an unchanged voter base. The winning margin moved from 21,923 votes in 2018 to 13,943 in 2023. This does not prove a cause, but it gives the reader a concrete, seat-specific account of continuity and change. It also shows why a result story benefits from preserving both elections in the same record: the names, party outcome, scale of voting and distance between the top two can all change independently. For Samri (ST), those certified figures are more informative than a generic label about whether the seat was “strong” or “weak” for any party.

A note on the result record

The figures in this report are preserved as an election result record: candidate totals, turnout, electorate, NOTA and the winning margin. They describe what was counted in 2023 and how that count compares with 2018. They do not assign motives to voters or convert aggregate constituency data into claims about particular communities, localities or demographic groups.

Election Mandi Analysis

The official record shows a measurable change between 2018 and 2023 in Samri (ST). Udheshwari Paikra won in 2023 with 83,483 votes and a margin of 13,943; Vijay Paikra had 69,540, while Anand Tigga polled 5,034. In 2018, Chintamani Maharaj had won with 80,620 votes and Sidhnath Paikra was second with 58,697. The evidence therefore supports a factual comparison of candidates, party outcome, vote totals and margins, without turning the result into a prediction about a future election.

 (FAQ)

Who won Samri (ST) in 2023?

Udheshwari Paikra of the BJP won with 83,483 votes.

Who was runner-up?

Vijay Paikra of the INC received 69,540 votes.

What was the winning margin?

13,943 votes.

Who finished third?

Anand Tigga with 5,034 votes.

What was turnout?

83.93%.

How many electors were registered?

218,557.

How many votes did NOTA receive?

4,981.

Who won in 2018?

Chintamani Maharaj of the INC with 80,620 votes.

What was the 2018 margin?

21,923 votes.

Does the 2023 result predict the next election?

No. It is a historical result; any future election requires fresh evidence.

Sources

Primary: Election Commission of India, Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly Election 2023 – Detailed Results, Constituency Data Summary and AC-wise Voters Information. Historical comparison: Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Chhattisgarh / ECI, Assembly Election 2018 statistical results.