Congress’s MLA switch came with an expiry date
The Supreme Court has upheld Danam Nagender’s disqualification after he contested the Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket while still a BRS MLA.
The Supreme Court upheld the disqualification of Danam Nagender as an MLA from April 23, 2024.
Danam Nagender’s political shortcut has reached its legal dead end. The Supreme Court on September 24 dismissed his challenge and left intact the Telangana High Court’s order disqualifying him as an MLA from April 23, 2024.
Nagender won Khairatabad on a BRS ticket in the 2023 Assembly election, later joined Congress and contested the 2024 Secunderabad Lok Sabha election on its ticket while retaining his Assembly membership. He lost to BJP candidate G. Kishan Reddy. The High Court also declared the Khairatabad seat vacant. The Supreme Court found no reason to interfere with the High Court’s interpretation of Paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule, according to legal reports.
The reported courtroom summary was concise: “Back to the party. Not to the Assembly.” T. Harish Rao has now asked Rahul Gandhi to press other BRS-to-Congress defectors to resign and seek fresh mandates. That is a political demand, not a Supreme Court order. Congress has yet to answer it publicly. Its constitutional enthusiasm, for now, appears selective.