Unidentified gunmen on Sunday shot dead Communist Party of India (ML-Liberation) legislator Mahendra Prasad Singh at an election meeting near Saria in Jharkhand's Giridih district, police said.

Singh, who had filed nominations from Bagodar assembly seat, where election will be held in the first phase on February 3, was addressing the meeting when the incident took place.

The 51-year-old leader is survived by his wife, a son and three daughters.