The Samajwadi Party on Friday announced its first candidate in Madhya Pradesh as part of its alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party to contest unitedly in that state. "The SP has announced Ratiram Bansal as its candidate on Tikamgarh Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh," party chief spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury said.

The SP and the BSP alliance had last month announced an electoral pact to fight Lok Sabha election in MP and Uttarakhand besides Uttar Pradesh.

The SP will contest on three seats — Balaghat, Tikamgarh and Khajuraho — while the BSP will field candidates on the remaining 26 seats in Madhya Pradesh. Of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, the SP and the BSP will contest 37 and 38 seats respectively, leaving three for the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal and two for Congress' Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli) and Rahul Gandhi (Amethi).