Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sita Soren was trailing by a margin of over 33,000 votes from Jharkhand’s Jamtara constituency as the ballots for the state Assembly elections were being counted, according to data from the Election Commission.

As per the trends at 1.50 pm, Sita Soren had secured just more than 30,000 votes. Congress candidate Irfan Ansari was leading with over 60,000 votes.

Follow Scroll’s coverage of the 2024 Jharkhand Assembly election here

Early trends indicated a clear win for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance, which was leading in over 41 of the seats, which is the majority mark that a party or coalition needs to form the government.

While the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was leading in 31 seats, the Congress was ahead in 14 and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in four constituencies. The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) was leading in two seats.

The BJP had taken a lead in 26 seats, as of 1.15 pm. Its alliance partner All Jharkhand Students Union, or AJSU Party, was ahead in one seat. The Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) were also ahead in one constituency each.

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 had 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. Durga Soren died in 2009.

Also read: Facebook, Instagram failed to curb shadow ads in Jharkhand targeting CM Soren and others: new report