Shah condemns Maoist attack killing Chhattisgarh MLA

New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday condemned the Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh in which a party MLA and four others were killed and asserted that "such act of cowardice" will not deter them from fighting the ultra-Left insurgents.

"Anguished to learn about the killing of BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and five others in a naxal (Maoist) attack in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada. Such act of cowardice can not deter BJP from its commitment to fight naxalism," Shah said in a tweet.

Maoists exploded an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday evening, killing BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi, his driver and three personal security officers.

The "meticulously planned attack" came as Mandavi was hurrying to an election meeting just before close of campaigning at 5 p.m. for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Thursday.