Left: Danam Nagender as a winning BRS MLA; Centre: Rahul Gandhi and Revanth Reddy; Right: Danam Nagender.
BJP Telangana State President N Ramchander Rao welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Telangana High Court’s historic judgment disqualifying Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender, describing the apex court verdict as a “historic victory for democracy and constitutional morality”.
Rao, in a statement, said the Supreme Court’s judgment had once again proven that no matter how powerful someone was in a democracy, they had to bow down to the Constitution, and ultimately, the truth prevailed.
The Supreme Court on September 24, 2026, dismissed Danam Nagender’s challenge to the Telangana High Court judgment disqualifying him under the anti-defection law.
The High Court had passed its judgment on September 18, 2026, declaring Nagender disqualified from the Assembly with effect from April 23, 2024, the date on which he filed his nomination as a Congress candidate for the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency while being a BRS MLA.
Reacting to the Supreme Court verdict, Rao said the “remarkable victory” was made possible through the “uncompromising legal battle” waged by the BJP Legislative Party (BJLP) to safeguard democracy.
Rao also targeted Rahul Gandhi, saying that giving a Congress MP ticket to an MLA elected on another party’s B-form, while travelling across the country holding a copy of the Constitution and putting on a “fake drama” of “Samvidhan Bachao” (Save the Constitution), was a prime testament to his “deceit and hypocritical politics”.
The BJP Telagana president said the apex court’s verdict served as a strong slap in the face to the Congress party’s arrogance, sending a clear message that legislative bodies could not become hubs for political turncoats (Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram) and that democracy could not be murdered under the guise of “homecomings” (Ghar Wapsi).
“In this same spirit, we will intensify our legal battles in the courts and our public agitations on the ground against the anti-constitutional actions being carried out by the Congress government,” Rao said.
He said Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, who ought to strictly enforce the Anti-Defection Law, personally encouraging defections was reminiscent of “the fence eating the crop”. It was now proven that even if one attempted to gain unconstitutional advantages by using the Speaker’s office as a shield, no one could escape before justice, he said.
The BJP demanded that CM Revanth Reddy, who had committed “constitutional betrayal”, learn a lesson and immediately make all the defected MLAs who donned the Congress scarf resign and face fresh by-elections.
“If you have the guts, face the public mandate,” the BJP said.
Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy said the verdict was not merely an issue concerning the Congress party, but a lesson for the politics of defections that both the Congress and BRS parties were illegally following in Telangana.
He said that when in power, inducting Opposition MLAs into their own party and giving them ministerial posts had been turned into an unfortunate culture by the two parties in Telangana politics.
BJP State General Secretary Dr N. Gautham Rao demanded that Rahul Gandhi, who goes around carrying the Constitution book, answer for the constitutional violations being committed by his party, and that both parties publicly apologise to the people.
Gautham Rao said all the MLAs who joined the Congress, including Kadiyam Srihari, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Tellam Venkat Rao, Sanjay Kumar, Arikepudi Gandhi and Prakash Goud, should immediately resign and seek the people’s mandate.
The case dates back to March 15, 2024, when Nagender joined the Congress. On March 18, 2024, BRS MLAs Padi Kaushik Reddy and Kuna Pandu Vivekanand filed disqualification petitions before the Telangana Assembly Speaker. BJP MLA and Floor Leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy subsequently filed a petition seeking Nagender’s disqualification on July 1, 2024.
After the petitions remained undecided, the matter reached the Telangana High Court. On September 9, 2024, a single judge directed the Assembly Secretary to place the disqualification petitions before the Speaker and fix a schedule for the proceedings. The Assembly Secretary challenged the order, and on November 22, 2024, a Division Bench set aside the single judge’s order.
The matter subsequently reached the Supreme Court. On July 31, 2025, the Supreme Court set aside the Telangana High Court Division Bench order and directed the Speaker to conclude the disqualification proceedings against the 10 MLAs within three months.
On March 11, 2026, the Telangana Assembly Speaker dismissed the disqualification petitions against Nagender. The decision was subsequently challenged before the Telangana High Court by BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy.
On September 18, 2026, the Telangana High Court set aside the Speaker’s order and disqualified Nagender as an MLA. The court held that his membership stood cancelled from April 23, 2024, and declared the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant. Nagender subsequently approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court verdict.
