NEW DELHI: With a flowing beard, donning a white dhoti and a vibuti on his forehead, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visited the Mahakal temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain on Tuesday.

The BJP has called it a "desperate attempt" to gain Hindu votes ahead of the Gujarat elections.

At Mahakal temple, the Wayanad MP offered prayers to Lord Shiva and Lord Nandi. The visit drew criticism from the BJP, which linked the temple visit to polls in Gujarat.

BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya led the charge, calling Rahul Gandhi a "chunavi Hindu" who only displays his Hindutva during polls.

The BJP also termed the visit a "photo op" and slammed the Gandhi scion for taking his photographer to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

On November 25, Rahul Gandhi offered puja at the temple of Omkareshwar, also a Jyotirlinga, in Madhya Pradesh, where assembly elections are due next year.

"This is a country where tapasvis are worshipped. I have been on a tapasya [penance] for the last three months, but that is too small in front of the real tapasvis -- the farmers and workers," the former Congress chief said on Wednesday.

Rahul Gandhi is currently leading Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra through Madhya Pradesh.

The yatra will enter Congress-ruled Rajasthan on December 4.