The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Telangana High Court’s decision disqualifying Danam Nagender as the Khairatabad MLA under the anti-defection law, delivering a significant setback to the senior politician. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, refused to interfere with the High Court’s verdict, thereby setting aside the Telangana Assembly Speaker’s earlier decision and declaring the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant. During the hearing, Justice Bagchi orally remarked, “Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram, phir aaya Ram,” referring to the frequent switching of political parties.

The Telangana High Court had ruled that Danam Nagender, who was elected to the Assembly on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket in the 2023 Assembly elections, incurred disqualification after contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate while continuing as a sitting MLA. The Court held that his actions attracted the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, commonly known as the anti-defection law, which mandates the disqualification of legislators who voluntarily give up the membership of the political party on whose ticket they were elected. The petitions challenging his continuance as MLA were filed by BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy and BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy.

Danam Nagender had joined the Congress in March 2024 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections after resigning from the BRS and later unsuccessfully contested the Secunderabad parliamentary seat. Following the Supreme Court’s latest order, the Khairatabad Assembly constituency has officially fallen vacant, paving the way for a by-election. The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule in due course, as the by-election must be conducted within six months of the seat being declared vacant. The verdict is being seen as a significant development in Telangana politics, especially in the context of the ongoing defection cases involving several other legislators.