Chhattisgarh Assembly Election: BJP Eyes Conquering Former Bastion As Congress Looks To Retain In Samri

In the 2018 Assembly Polls, Congress's Chintamani Maharaj registered a thumping victory over BJP's Sidhnath Paikra in Samri Assembly Constituency.

Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections: Housed in Balrampur district, Samri is one of the 90 Legislative Assembly constituencies Chhattisgarh and is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates.

Samri is largely regarded a bastion of the BJP and its predecessors, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Janata Party, and has swung largely in favour of the saffron party while electing representatives. Since its formation in 1952, the Samri Assembly Constituency has swung between the Congress and the BJP (and its predecessors Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Janata Party). However, the BJP holds a clear edge as it has won the seat nine times compared to the Congress which has registered four victories.

In the 2018 Assembly Polls, Congress’s Chintamani Maharaj registered a thumping victory over BJP’s Sidhnath Paikra, defeating his rival by a margin of 21,923 votes.

Samri Assembly Constituency: Key Candidates

In this year’s Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, Congress candidate Vijay Paikra will be hoping to maintain the ruling party’s recent dominance in the Samri Legislative Assembly Constituency as he goes up against BJP’s Udheshwari Paikra and AAP leader Devganesh Singh Tekam.

The BJP, in its bid to oust Congress from power, has gone all out in its poll campaign in the state with star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other party bigwigs addressing election rallies in the state.

Chhattisgarh is tipped to feature a head-to-head battle between the ruling Congress and the BJP.

Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections: Key dates

• Date of nomination: 13 October, 2023
• Nomination ends: 2o October, 2023
• Last date of withdrawal: 23 October, 2023
• Date of polling: November 07, 2023

Phase II

• Date of nomination: 21 October, 2023
• Nomination ends: 3o October, 2023
• Last date of withdrawal: 02 November, 2023
• Date of polling: November 17, 2023
• Date of counting/Declaration Of Results: 03 December, 2023