Hyderabad witnessed a significant political development on Sunday evening when nine out of ten MLAs who defected from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to Congress last year held a closed-door meeting with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy at his residence. Only Kadiyam Srihari was absent from the meeting, which comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s July 31 directive instructing Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar to decide within three months on the disqualification petitions filed against these MLAs. The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, was seen as a crucial step in determining the future political course of the defected legislators.

Although the MLAs publicly claimed that their interaction with the Chief Minister was focused on seeking funds and support for the development of their constituencies, sources indicate that legal and political consequences of the disqualification notices were at the center of their discussions. The legislators have maintained that they remain members of BRS, pointing to Assembly records that still list them as such. However, the opposition BRS, led by working president K.T. Rama Rao, has strongly pressed for their immediate disqualification, arguing that the defections since March 2024 violated established Supreme Court precedents which require Speakers to decide such matters within three months.

The Supreme Court’s intervention has intensified the spotlight on these legislators, including Danam Nagender, Tellam Venkat Rao, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, M. Sanjay Kumar, Arekapudi Gandhi, T. Prakash Goud, B. Krishna Mohan Reddy, G. Mahipal Reddy, Kale Yadaiah, and Kadiyam Srihari. For Congress, the support of these MLAs has bolstered its strength, while for BRS, their defection represents a major political setback. With the Speaker now under pressure to act swiftly, the coming weeks could reshape Telangana’s political dynamics, potentially altering the balance of power within the Assembly.