Defection case: Telangana HC disqualifies Danam Nagender as MLA

The Election Commission of India has not formally released the exact voting dates for the Khairatabad bypoll with Nagender's disqualification. However, by-elections are constitutionally mandated to be conducted within six months of a seat being declared vacant. Given the September 2026 ruling, the official window places the election deadline around late early 2027 (potentially February or March 2027).

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday, September 18, disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender from the Legislative Assembly with effect from April 23, 2024, setting aside an order by Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar that had earlier rejected petitions seeking his disqualification.

A bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin, which had reserved its verdict on August 21, held that Nagender stood disqualified under the anti-defection law for contesting the 2024 Secunderabad Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket while remaining an MLA elected on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has yet to announce the voting dates for the Khairatabad bypoll, necessitated by Nagender’s disqualification. Since by-elections are mandated to be held within six months of a seat being declared vacant, the official window places the election deadline around February-March 2027.

A switch that began in 2023

Nagender was elected as Khairatabad MLA on a BRS ticket in December 2023. In 2024, he switched to the Congress and contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on its ticket, without resigning from the BRS or his Assembly seat. He lost that Lok Sabha election, but his decision to contest as a Congress candidate while still holding his MLA seat as a BRS member drew sharp criticism and became the basis for the disqualification petitions against him.

The petitions before the High Court were filed by BRS Huzurabad MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy of Nirmal, both seeking to quash the Speaker’s March 11 order dismissing the case against Nagender. 

They argued that he was liable to be disqualified under paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution for having contested on another party’s ticket without giving up the seat he held as a BRS member.

Long legal battle since 2024

Nagender was one of 10 BRS MLAs who switched to the Congress between March and August 2024, along with Kadiyam Srihari, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Tellam Venkat Rao, M Sanjay Kumar, Arekapudi Gandhi, T Prakash Goud, B Krishna Mohan Reddy, Kale Yadaiah and Gudem Mahipal Reddy.

The BRS first approached the High Court in April 2024, contending that the Speaker’s office was sitting on its disqualification petitions against Nagender and two other MLAs. A single judge, on September 9, 2024, directed the Speaker to fix a schedule for hearing the pleas, but a division bench set aside that order on November 27, 2024, on appeal by the Speaker’s office.

The BRS then moved the Supreme Court, which on July 31, 2025, set aside the division bench’s order and directed the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions within three months. The Speaker’s office subsequently dismissed all the petitions concerning the 10 MLAs.

The BRS challenged this outcome in the High Court against nine of the 10 MLAs, leaving out Mahipal Reddy of Patancheru, while Maheshwar Reddy separately filed a petition against Nagender. On August 21, the bench reserved orders in Nagender’s case while continuing to hear arguments in the pleas involving the remaining eight MLAs, which are yet to be decided.

Reactions pour in

Soon after Friday’s ruling, BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, who had filed the petition, said, “We told you on that sixth day, Revanth Reddy, that on the day we strike, you won’t be able to withstand it. The Telangana High Court has set a disqualification trap on the party-revoked donation regarding Nagender’s MLA membership. This is a victory won for BRS’s legal battle. Revanth’s revocation, this is a slap in the face for petty politics.”

Another petitioner, BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, also took to X to laud the court ruling. He wrote, “We welcome the court verdict on Danam Nagender Garu. The BJP has been fighting for justice and the protection of democracy in the case of Danam Nagender Garu, who won as an MLA from one party and contested as an MP from another party.

“The court’s verdict, which overturned the Speaker’s decision, is a strong testament to democracy. This verdict has put an end to the Congress’s attempts to lure MLAs from other parties to its side. They should get the remaining MLAs to resign and go for elections. If there is faith in democracy, they should resign without going to the Supreme Court. Tomorrow, we will file a caveat petition.”

BRS working president KT Rama Rao took to X to post: “Satyameva Jayate!! BRS MLA Danam Nagendar, who defected to Congress, got disqualified by the Hon’ble High Court today. The rest of the defectors will also meet the same fate soon.”

BRS leader Harish Rao also wrote a long post on the decision and called it an exposure of the Congress’ double standards. “Danam Nagender won on a BRS ticket, defected to Congress, and continued as an MLA while contesting the Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate. Yet, instead of protecting the sanctity of the people’s mandate, the Speaker’s decision gave him protection. The High Court’s intervention has now raised serious questions about the Speaker’s handling of the matter.

He went on to add that the Congress and Rahul Gandhi must answer, “Is their commitment to the Constitution genuine, or does it change with political convenience? Satyameva Jayate!”