Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sita Soren on Saturday lost the Jharkhand Assembly election from Jamtara to the Congress’ Irfan Ansari by a margin of 43,676 votes, according to Election Commission data.

Sita Soren secured 89,590 of the votes counted.

Sita Soren is the daughter-in-law of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren. A three-time legislator from the Jama Assembly constituency, Sita Soren resigned from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and joined the BJP in March.

Sita Soren was married to Durga Soren, the elder brother of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who died in 2009.

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Late trends indicated a clear win for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance, which had won 40 seats and was leading in six others. A party or coalition needs 41 seats in the 81-seat Assembly to form the government.

While the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 29 seats, the Congress won 15 and the Rashtriya Janata Dal won four constituencies. The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) won two seats.

The BJP won 19 seats and was leading in two. Its alliance partner All Jharkhand Students Union, or AJSU Party, won a single seat. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won a single seat while the Janata Dal (United) was leading in one seat.

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