Hyderabad’s political landscape is heating up as Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar schedules a crucial hearing on January 30 for the disqualification petition against MLA Danam Nagender. Elected in 2023 on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket from Khairatabad, Nagender faces accusations of leaning towards the ruling Congress party, sparking a fierce intra-party battle.
The Speaker has issued notices to Nagender and BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy, who filed the petition, summoning both for the proceedings. On the same day, another petition by BJP floor leader A. Maheshwar Reddy against Nagender will also come up for hearing, adding layers to this high-stakes drama.
Nagender, a former minister, has fired back by filing an affidavit urging the Speaker to dismiss the plea. He insists he hasn’t resigned from BRS or received any suspension notice. His appearance at a Congress meeting in March 2024 was purely in a personal capacity, he claims.
This isn’t the first such case. The Speaker has already rejected disqualification petitions against seven out of ten BRS MLAs who allegedly joined Congress in 2024, ruling that petitioners failed to prove the switch and technically, the MLAs remain with BRS.
Last year, hearings concluded for eight MLAs with orders reserved, while Sanjay Kumar’s case pends. Petitions against Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari stalled due to their failure to respond to notices.
BRS alleges these MLAs openly joined Congress, sat on treasury benches, and even campaigned for the party. Nagender contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket, and Srihari promoted his daughter Kavya, Congress candidate from Warangal.
The MLAs counter that meetings with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy were solely for constituency development. As the hearing approaches, all eyes are on the Speaker’s verdict, which could reshape Telangana’s assembly dynamics and set precedents for defection cases.