India, Feb. 9 -- For three decades, New Delhi constituency served as Delhi politics' truest weathervane - its winner inevitably becoming chief minister. On Saturday, this seat that spans the capital's stark extremes - from the Presidential Estate to Pillanji village's cramped lanes delivered its most dramatic verdict yet, as BJP's Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma defeated former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal by 4,089 votes.

The loss proved particularly poignant in a constituency that had birthed Kejriwal's political career in 2013, when he defeated three-term chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

Adding a layer of historical irony, Congress candidate Sandeep Dikshit - Sheila Dikshit's son - secured 4,568 votes, more than the margin of Kejriwal's def...