Andhra Pradesh legislator Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former lawmaker Siveri Soma were shot dead by Maoists on Sunday, police said.

Telugu Desam Party leaders Rao, who represented Araku, and Soma were attending a programme in Araku when they were attacked by the banned CPI (Maoists) near Thutangi village, about 125 km from Visakhapatnam.

They were shot from point blank range, reported news agency IANS.

Rao was elected from Araku, a constituency reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, on YSR Congress Party ticket in the 2014 elections, defeating Soma of the TDP.

In 2016, Rao switched loyalties to TDP. Rao and Soma had received threats from Maoists in the past.