RANCHI, India, April 11 (Reuters) - Maoist rebels killed five policemen and injured three in eastern India on Saturday, hours before the chief of the ruling Congress party was due to address an election rally in the area.

Maoist rebels, who have called for a boycott of the general election in Jharkhand state, have stepped up their attacks ahead of the polls that begin next week.

"In the Maoist ambush, five CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel were killed and three were injured," said Satya Narayan Pradhan, a spokesman for the police in Jharkhand state.

The ambush was in the forested Khuti district, 10 km (6 miles) from the spot where Congress president Sonia Gandhi was due to address a rally, he said.

The rally was delayed by two hours but went ahead, he said.

Maoist rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers, have stepped up their violent campaign in eastern and central Indian states ahead of the general election and ordered people to boycott the polls.

In Jharkhand state they have blown up government offices and schools, which are often used during polling, and set fire to candidates' offices in recent weeks.

Thousands of people have been killed in the Maoist insurgency which began in the late 1960s, and which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described as one of the gravest threats to India's internal security. (Reporting by Nityanand Shukla; editing by Rina Chandran and Tim Pearce)

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