Patna: RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari on Friday accused the BJP of politicising former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's death by taking his ashes across the country.

"The BJP wants to win the battle of the next Lok Sabha election not on the basis of the work done by the Narendra Modi government but with the procession of urns containing the ashes of Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji. The party leaders including the PM who never uttered the name of Vajpayeeji are pretending as if they were all keeping his photo close to their hearts," Tiwari said.

Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have handed over the urns containing the ashes of Vajpayee to all state BJP presidents with the instruction to take out processions in their states and immerse the ashes in holy rivers.

"As far as I know, Atal ji never expressed a desire that after his death there should be any such procession. It was Nehruji who had earlier expressed his desire that his ashes should be immersed in the Ganga and over farmlands. That time, it was the same BJP that had created hullabaloo over Nehru ji's ashes and now they are doing the same thing taking Atalji's asthi kalash to every nook and corner of the country. This is being done for sympathy among voters ahead of 2019."

Vajpayee's niece and Congress leader Karuna Shukla had on Thursday slammed the BJP, alleging that the BJP was carrying the ashes of Vajpayee around the country for gains in the upcoming elections. She had termed the procession a show for votes.

Tiwari claimed that Modi's confidence has shaken after recent defeats in by polls and the only hope to win the upcoming election is to gain sympathy votes in the name of Vajpayee. "Whatever is happening now is excess and a complete show," Tiwari said, adding that people are taking selfies laughing during the processions.