Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and former Madhya Pradesh minister Kishori Lal Verma and his wife were allegedly stabbed to death by a local contractor on Saturday on the banks of Narmada river at Kedi Ghat.

Verma, who represented Pandahana constituency in the state Assembly travelled to the river near Omkareshwara along with his wife on the occasion of Diwali.

They were attacked with a sharp-edged weapon by the construction contractor, according to police.

The accused has been arrested, police said, adding a dispute over payment seemed to be behind the attack.

Senior police officials rushed to the site soon after the incident and steps are taken to ensure that no untoward incident took place in the area.

Verma was the state education minister during the then-BJP government in the early 1990s.