Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren has lost the by-elections for the Tamar Assembly constituency by 9,062 votes.
Soren lost to Jharkhand Party candidate Gopal Krishna Patar and may have to vacate the Chief Minister's seat.
Soren is the second reigning Chief Minister in the country to face defeat in Assembly polls. The first one was former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Tribhuban Narayan Singh who too lost in a by-election in the sixties.
Counting of votes for Tamar Assembly constituency began on Thursday at 0800 hrs IST amid tight security and soon it became clear that Soren would not find the going easy.
Nearly 60 per cent of an estimated 1.59 lakh electorate exercised their franchise in the January 5 by-election. He was seeking to enter the Assembly within the stipulated six months after assuming office on August 27, 2008.
Soren forced Madhu Koda to resign as Jharkhand chief minister and with the help of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress took over the reigns of the state.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded President's Rule in the state.
Despite Soren's embarrassing loss Congress leader and Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahay claimed that United Progressive Alliance (UPA) still had the majority in the state Assembly
Soren and Koda are arriving in Delhi on Thursday evening. The duo has been called for discussions with Congress and RJD leaders in the National Capital.
The seat fell vacant after JD(U) legislature party leader Ramesh Singh Munda was gunned down on July 9 last year by suspected Maoists.
All Jharkhand Students' Union (AJSU) candidate Vijay Singh Manaki was placed third followed by NDA's Vasundhara Munda, wife of the slain JD-U legislator.
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