After Alka Lamba, Congress Leader Manish Chatrath Has Declined Offer To Contest Delhi Polls: Sources

Senior Congress leader Manish Chatrath has declined to fight in the Delhi Assembly elections, despite being asked to run in the New Rajinder Nagar seat.

The Congress is bracing for a jolt as senior leader Manish Chatrath is said to have refused to contest in the Delhi Assembly Elections. According to ABP sources in the Congress, Manish Chatrath was asked to contest the New Rajinder Nagar seat, but he declined.

The development comes a few days after Congress leader Alka Lamba refused to contest the Delhi Assembly elections. Congress initially thought of pitting against Chief Minister Atishi in Kalkaji. 

Manish Chatrath has served on several key posts in Delhi and was till very recently in charge of the party's affairs in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.

Congress released the second list for the Delhi Assembly elections 2025, announcing the names of 26 candidates. However, the candidates for the Okhla and Kalkaji seats have not been finalised yet. Congress has fielded Sandeep Dixit against Arvind Kejriwal and Farhad Suri against Manish Sisodia. However, no name has been presented yet from the Kalkaji seat against CM Atishi. 

Congress was considering fielding Alka Lamba against CM Atishi, but Lamba refused to contest the Delhi polls. As per party insiders, Congress leaders were in favour of pitting Alka Lamba against Atishi, but she backed out. 

It is not yet clear whether Alka Lamba does not want to contest the Kalkaji seat or is against fighting the polls altogether. Earlier, when she had been asked about her choice during the Lok Sabha elections, she said that she would like to try her luck from Chandni Chowk.

INDIA Falls Apart In Delhi

Congress and AAP — the two INDIA partners in Delhi — are locked in an intense battle ahead of the Delhi elections. While the Congress accused the AAP government in Punjab of sending money for Delhi elections, the AAP alleged that the Congress had allied with the BJP and that its Delhi polls campaign was being funded by the saffron party.

The AAP has even demanded the expulsion of the Congress from the INDIA bloc if it did not take action against senior leader Ajay Maken for calling Arvind Kejriwal "anti-national" and filing a police complaint against him.