India, Feb. 9 -- For a decade, Kalkaji stood as a microcosm of Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi story - a constituency where its promise of bridging class divides through service delivery found resonance from slums to gated colonies. On Saturday, it became its rare redoubt, as chief minister Atishi emerged one of the few party bigwigs to retain a constituency.

The southeast Delhi constituency, which witnessed one of the capital's most bitter campaigns, saw Atishi secure 52,058 votes against BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri's 48,478 after nail-biting counting where the outgoing CM was trailing for nine of the 12 rounds.

The constituency is a story of stark socio-economic contrasts. From the affluent gated communities of Friends Colony and Maharani Bagh, and ...