Congress leader Alka Lamba faces AAP candidate and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi in the Kalkaji constituency in the soon-to-be-held Delhi assembly elections.
"The Central Election Committee has approved the candidature of Alka Lamba as Congress candidate to contest the forthcoming general election to the Legislative Assembly of Delhi from 51 - Kalkaji constituency," said the Congress in a statement.
Ms Lamba, who is All India Mahila Congress President, has in the past contested unsuccessfully against Arvind Kejriwal. Sources say Ms Lamba was not keen on contesting from Kalkaji.
Atishi, who uses a single name, is the third woman chief minister of Delhi after Sheila Dikshit and Sushma Swaraj. She is also the youngest person to become the chief minister of Delhi.
The Congress, which was in power in Delhi for 15 straight years, has not been able to win any seat in the last two editions of the Delhi polls.
Alka Lamba joined the Congress' students' wing, National Students' Union of India (NSUI), in 1994 when she was 19. A year later, she won the election to the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU).
The 49-year-old leader left the Congress in 2013 and joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Two years later, she went on to win the election to the Delhi assembly from Chandni Chowk constituency. In 2019, she left the AAP and returned to her parent party, the Congress.
Allies in the Opposition bloc INDIA, the Congress and AAP are fighting against each other in the Delhi polls. The parties even fought separately in the Haryana elections last year. However, the two did come together for the seven Delhi Lok Sabha seats in the general elections of 2024. The results were dismal, with the BJP winning all seven seats.
