Bhopal, Feb 25 (IANS): In Madhya Pradesh, the dispute over the counting of votes in the urban body elections is intensifying even before the dates of the polls have been announced. While the Congress is demanding a paper ballot, the BJP says the Congress is already searching for excuses for its impending defeat.

Both the BJP and the Congress are engaged in preparations for urban body elections in the state. For both the parties, this election is very important in the backdrop of rising prices and the farmers' agitation.

Every time, in the run-up to the elections, the issue of EVMs vs paper ballot leads to feuds between the two parties. The Congress has put its weight behind a paper ballot. Leader of the opposition and former chief minister Kamal Nath has said that the credibility of EVMs has been questioned in all the elections in which they have been deployed in the state.

The BJP has, predictably, taken a swipe at the Congress's demand for a paper ballot. Said state BJP chief Vishnu Dutt Sharma: "A minister known for creating confusion, deceit and pursuing the politics of hypocrisy is approaching the election commission. The Congress has lost its credibility as a political party. Digvijay Singh is one leader who himself says that wherever he goes the Congress loses votes. The Congress has been become scared after the results of the Gujarat urban body elections and has now begun to look for excuses for defeat."