PM, Sonia to leave for Chhattisgarh tomorrow

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi will visit Chhattisgarh tomorrow in the wake of the Maoist attack that left 17 persons, including state party leaders dead.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has already left for the state.

Heavily-armed Maoists ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders inside a dense forest in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district today, killing at least 17 people, including senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma.

The Maoists also kidnapped PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh after attacking the convoy of Congress leaders in Darba Gati Valley near Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar district.