NEW DELHI: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former information and broadcasting minister Ravishanker Prasad was wounded in an attack by a lone gunman at an election meeting at Nokha in Bihar's Rohtas district today.

The attack, which took place while Prasad was addressing an election meeting in the state, wounded him in the arm and the incensed crowd immediately turned on the as-yet unknown assailant, injuring him seriously. According to doctors, the attacker is presently in an unconscious state.

Prasad collapsed on the dais after the shooting, Press Trust of India, quoting official sources, said. The injured Prasad was immediately flown in a helicopter to Bihar's state capital of Patna where he was admitted to a private nursing home.

The BJP, battling to regain some power in the near-lawless state of Bihar, could make this a plank during the forthcoming elections, scheduled to take place next month.