Jan. 10: The suspense over who shall be the next mayor, and when, will continue for some time. Though councillors of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation voted today to elect mayor Nilakshi Talukdar and her deputy Abdul Majid’s successors, the results will be known only after Gauhati High Court lifts a stay order on the counting.

Voting for the posts of the mayor and deputy mayor took place after the state government decided, at a meeting of councillors today, to hold the election as scheduled despite a high court order against publication of the results.

Last Friday, a single-judge bench of Justice I.A. Ansari put a stay on the election results after hearing a writ filed by Majid who pleaded that their tenure be extended up to May 16 this year to enable them to complete one year in office. Talukdar and Majid, who had been elected mayor and deputy mayor last January, could assume charges only on May 16 because of a court case challenging their election.

Majid’s advocate Bhaskar Dev Konwar said the court has directed that the result of today’s election should be kept in abeyance and no gazette notification published in this regard. It was further directed that the result should not be acted upon without prior leave of the court.

A sense of d?j? vu prevailed at the Bishnu Nirmala Trust auditorium today where the election was held. Talukdar and Majid’s election last year, too, had been controversial, with the high court issuing a stay on the results of that election as well.

Lower Assam Commissioner C.K. Sarma, who acted as the presiding officer, informed the councillors today that counting would be held only after the high court stay is vacated. Till then, the ballot boxes will be kept at the state treasury.

Of the total 64 votes, including that of the seven ex-officio members, 62 votes were polled as BJP MP Indramoni Bora and Congress councillor Ranjan Saikia did not turn up. Ward 17 councillor Gunawati Teron and ward 7 councillor Dipankar Ghosh of were the Congress’s candidates for the mayor and deputy mayor respectively.

The Opposition fielded Independent councillor from ward 13 Jayanta Boro and BJP councillor from ward 53 Nilima Bordoloi.

Even the voting process had its share of controversy. Mayor aspirant Jayanta Boro filed an objection with the presiding officer alleging that Congress MP from Guwahati, Kirip Chaliha, an ex-officio member, had opened the ballots of all the Congress councillors to prevent cross-voting. “His conduct has made a mockery of secret ballot,” Boro said.

Denying the charges as baseless, Teron said: “This is not new. Even in earlier elections the Opposition resorted to such tactics when it knew that their defeat was imminent,” Teron said.

Of the total 64 voters, the Congress has 27 councillors and six are ex-officio members.

The BJP has 13 councillors and one ex-officio member while the AGP has 12 councillors. The remaining five are Independent councillors.