From correspondents in India, 11:31 PM IST

The Congress party Thursday officially declared it will contest the next Lok Sabha elections in coalition with the Samajwadi Party.

The announcement came after the party's general secretary Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with the members of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Coordination Committee here.

'However, the seat sharing equation and other terms and conditions have not been finalised as yet and are likely to be completed in the next couple of days,' Digvijay Singh, senior Congress leader and in charge of the party's Uttar Pradesh affairs, told reporters.

'We are also open to similar coalitions with other secular political parties.'

A joint list of candidates will be declared by September, Singh said.

'A joint secular front has become a necessity for the development of the country and the state and the party will make efforts to form it,' Congress state unit chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi said.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)