Ranchi, Aug 13 - Seven legislators Thursday lost membership of the Jharkhand assembly under the anti-defection law.

Speaker Aalamgir Aalam finally passed his ruling in nine anti-defection cases, seven months after the hearings were completed.

The seven legislators are Enos Ekka of Jharkhand Party, Kamlesh Singh of Nationalist Congress Party, Bhanu Pratap Sahi of Forward Bloc, Thomas Hansda of Congress as well as three suspended legislators of the Bharatiya Janata Party: Kunti Singh, Rabindra Rai and Manohar Tekriwal.

The cases against Ekka and Kamlesh Singh have been pending since 2005 when they supported the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of Arjun Munda. The cases against the suspended BJP legislators have been pending since 2006.

Jharkhand has been under President's Rule since Jan 19 and fresh elections are likely in October and November.