INDIA bloc partners Samajwadi Party and Congress on Wednesday announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, with the state's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats for the Congress.

The announcement was made at a joint press conference by SP state chief Naresh Uttam Patel, SP national general secretary Rajendra Chaudhary, Congress state president Ajay Rai and AICC in-charge for UP Avinash Pande.

Congress will contest Raebareli, Amethi, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Kanpur and 12 other seats, said SP state chief Naresh Uttam Patel.

Samajwadi Party will contest one seat, Khajuraho, in Madhya Pradesh and support Congress on the rest, said Patel.

Pande said the Congress will contest on 17 seats, while on the rest of the 63 seats in the state SP and other alliance partners will contest.