Dalit? No. Party-hopping met the Tenth Schedule
The Supreme Court dismissed Danam Nagender’s challenge to his disqualification from the Khairatabad Assembly seat, leaving the Telangana High Court’s order in force.
The Supreme Court left the disqualification in force, opening the route to a Khairatabad by-election.
Danam Nagender’s party-hopping has now met the Tenth Schedule. The Supreme Court on September 24, 2026 dismissed his challenge to the Telangana High Court’s order disqualifying him as Khairatabad MLA, according to reports of the hearing. The court said there was no reason to interfere with the High Court’s decision.
Nagender won the seat for the BRS in 2023, later joined Congress and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket while continuing to hold the Assembly seat. The High Court’s order disqualified him with effect from April 23, 2024, after setting aside Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar’s March 11 decision rejecting disqualification petitions.
During the hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi reportedly described the sequence as “aaya Ram, gaya Ram, phir aaya Ram”. Justice V. Mohana added: “Ghar wapsi to the party, not to the Assembly.” The BJP’s Alleti Maheshwar Reddy and BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy had filed the petitions.
The legal route to a Khairatabad by-election is now open, but no Election Commission schedule was available in the material reviewed. The Congress government’s revolving door has produced a vacancy; the calendar still belongs to the Election Commission.