New Delhi, Dec. 4 -- The by-election results for 12 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday delivered a mixed verdict, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning seven seats, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) three, and the Indian National Congress (INC) and the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) one each - a outcome that saw both gains and losses for the BJP and AAP in each other's strongholds. Of the 12 wards, nine were earlier held by the BJP and three by the AAP. Of the nine seats previously held by the BJP, the party retained six, while the Naraina and Mundka seats went to the AAP and Sangam Vihar-A was won by the Congress. The Chandni Chowk and Chandni Mahal wards, both earlier held by the AAP, went to the BJP and the AIFB respectively, with the AAP holding on to Dakshinpuri. Significantly, the BJP maintained its hold over the Shalimar Bagh-B and Dwarka-B wards, earlier represented by now Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and West Delhi member of Parliament Kamaljeet Sehrawat. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the victory in seven of 12 wards showed that "the city's residents continue to think of BJP as their first choice". He added, "The BJP fought the MCD by-elections in full seriousness, and made an effort to promote women's leadership by fielding eight women candidates from a total of 12. We are pleased that the people of Delhi appreciated our push for women's political empowerment by electing six of these eight candidates." With the latest results, the MCD now has 123 BJP councillors, 101 from the AAP, 15 from the Indraprastha Vikas Party, nine from the Congress, one from the AIFB and one independent....