Telangana HC disqualifies Danam Nagender as MLA from Khairatabad
Synopsis
The Telangana High Court has overturned the Assembly Speaker's protective order and declared BRS-turned-Congress MLA Danam Nagender disqualified — effective April 2024. With nine similar cases still pending before the court, the ruling could unravel the Congress government's carefully assembled legislative numbers in Hyderabad.
Key Takeaways
Telangana High Court on 18 September 2026 declared Danam Nagender disqualified as MLA, effective 23 April 2024 .
The court set aside Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar's order of 11 March 2026 that had dismissed the disqualification petitions.
Nagender was elected from Khairatabad on a BRS ticket in 2023 but contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket in May 2024 .
He was one of 10 BRS MLAs who defected to the ruling Congress; the Speaker had dismissed all 10 disqualification petitions.
The ruling boosts BRS 's pending High Court challenges against 8 other defector MLAs.
The Telangana High Court on Friday, 18 September 2026, declared Danam Nagender disqualified as a member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, effective 23 April 2024, dealing a significant blow to the ruling Congress government in the state. The court set aside Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar's order that had dismissed petitions seeking Nagender's disqualification.
What the Court Ruled
The bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin, which had reserved its orders on 21 August, held that Nagender stands disqualified from 23 April 2024. The court found that Nagender — who was elected to the Assembly from Khairatabad constituency in 2023 on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket — had contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket in May 2024 without resigning from the BRS, triggering the anti-defection provisions.
Background: The Defection and the Speaker's Order
Nagender was among 10 BRS MLAs who switched allegiances to the ruling Congress party in 2024. The BRS subsequently filed disqualification petitions against all 10. On 11 March 2026, the Speaker dismissed the petitions relating to Nagender and fellow former minister Kadiyam Srihari, ruling that the petitioners had failed to furnish evidence of defection and that both legislators were technically still with the BRS.
The High Court's Friday ruling directly overturns that finding in Nagender's case, pronouncing on petitions filed by BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, who had challenged the Speaker's decision.
Impact on the Broader Defection Battle
The ruling is expected to energise BRS's efforts to secure disqualification of the remaining defectors. The Speaker has already dismissed petitions against eight other MLAs — Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, Arekapudi Gandhi (dismissed in December 2025), Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Kale Yadaiah (dismissed on 15 January 2026), and Sanjay Kumar (dismissed on 4 February 2026). BRS has filed separate High Court petitions challenging the Speaker's decisions in nine of the ten cases.
What Happens Next
Nagender's disqualification sets a legal precedent that could influence the outcome of the pending petitions against the other eight defectors, whose cases are still before the High Court. The Congress government, which relies on the support of these defected legislators, now faces heightened uncertainty. A potential by-election in Khairatabad could follow, adding fresh political stakes to an already contentious assembly arithmetic in Telangana.
Point of View
Courts will eventually correct course, as they have here. The Telangana Speaker's strategy of granting procedural clean chits to all ten defectors has now been partially invalidated, and the same logic could unravel the remaining eight dismissals. For the Congress government, each adverse ruling chips away at the legislative arithmetic it constructed by absorbing BRS rebels. The deeper question — whether India's anti-defection law, meant to punish floor-crossing, can survive Speaker partisanship — remains as unresolved as ever.
NationPress
18 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Danam Nagender disqualified as a Telangana MLA?
The Telangana High Court ruled that Nagender, elected from Khairatabad on a BRS ticket in 2023, contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket in May 2024 without resigning from the BRS, triggering anti-defection provisions. The court declared him disqualified with effect from 23 April 2024.
What had the Telangana Assembly Speaker ruled earlier?
Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on 11 March 2026 dismissed the petitions seeking Nagender's disqualification, ruling that the petitioners had failed to furnish evidence that he had defected to Congress and that he was technically still with the BRS. The High Court set aside that order on 18 September 2026.
Who filed the petition challenging the Speaker's order?
BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy filed separate petitions before the Telangana High Court challenging the Speaker's decision to dismiss the disqualification pleas against Nagender.
How does this ruling affect the other BRS defectors?
Nagender's disqualification strengthens BRS's legal challenge against eight other MLAs whose disqualification petitions were also dismissed by the Speaker. The BRS has filed High Court petitions in nine out of ten such cases, and this precedent could influence their outcome.
What happens to the Khairatabad assembly seat now?
With Nagender declared disqualified, the Khairatabad assembly seat is likely to fall vacant, potentially triggering a by-election. The Congress government, which relied on support from the BRS defectors, faces fresh political uncertainty as the pending cases against the remaining eight MLAs proceed in court.
