NEW DELHI: Suspected Maoist rebels on Saturday attacked a convoy of cars carrying local leaders and supporters of India's ruling Congress party in a Maoist-infested area in eastern India, killing at least one party member and wounding several people.

Senior police officer M. Gupta said suspected insurgents fired at the vehicles in the Sukma area, about 215 miles (345 kilometers) south of Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state.

Mahendra Karma, a state party leader, was killed in the attack, police officer Preetam Singh said.

The wounded Congress party members were taken to a hospital. They were returning to the state capital after attending a party rally. Other details were not immediately available.

The Congress party is the main opposition party in the state. The rebels have been fighting the central government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor.