Telangana High Court Disqualifies MLA Danam Nagender Over Defection

The Telangana High Court disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender on September 18, 2026, ruling that he violated anti-defection laws by contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate while serving as a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA. The court declared the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant with retrospective effect from April 23, 2024, the date Nagender contested the Secunderabad seat.

This judgment overturned a previous decision by Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, who had rejected disqualification petitions due to a perceived lack of evidence. The legal challenge was initiated through petitions filed by BJP leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy and BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy. The ruling establishes a judicial precedent that contesting a parliamentary election on a different party's ticket while serving as an MLA constitutes a violation of the Tenth Schedule.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) characterized the verdict as a victory for democracy and a rebuke to the Congress government. Following the ruling, the BJP demanded the resignation of all other BRS MLAs who defected to Congress in 2024, urging them to seek a fresh mandate rather than appealing to the Supreme Court. Nagender welcomed the judgment and stated he is ready to contest a new election for the now-vacant seat.