Congress switch costs Nagender his seat

The Telangana High Court has set aside the Assembly Speaker’s order rejecting disqualification petitions against Danam Nagender and held that he stood disqualified as Khairatabad MLA. The court also held that the seat was vacant, according to reports carrying the operative portion of the order.

Nagender won Khairatabad in 2023 as a BRS candidate. The Supreme Court’s July 31, 2025 judgment records the petitioners’ case that he joined the Congress on March 15, 2024 and later contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket while remaining an MLA. The High Court’s reported order makes the disqualification effective from April 23, 2024, the date associated with his Lok Sabha candidature. It declined to keep the order in abeyance pending a possible appeal and directed that it be communicated to the Assembly Secretary, Speaker and Election Commission.

BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao responded with “Satyameva Jayate”. BRS leaders have said the ruling could have implications for other defection petitions, but the research does not establish that any of those MLAs has been disqualified. The full High Court order, any appeal or stay petition, and the Election Commission’s next step remain unconfirmed. The Congress government and Speaker have not publicly responded in the material reviewed. The party that welcomed the switch now has a vacant seat to explain.