Hyderabad, Sept. 18 -- The Telangana High Court on Friday, September 18, disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender from the Legislative Assembly with effect from April 23, 2024, setting aside an order by Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar that had earlier rejected petitions seeking his disqualification.

A bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin, which had reserved its verdict on August 21, held that Nagender stood disqualified under the anti-defection law for contesting the 2024 Secunderabad Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket while remaining an MLA elected on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket.

A switch that began in 2023

Nagender was elected as Khairatabad MLA on a BRS ticket in December 2023. I...