Khairatabad seat vacant after Danam Nagender disqualification notified

The Telangana Legislative Assembly Secretariat has formally notified the disqualification of Danam Nagender as MLA from the Khairatabad constituency, making the seat vacant and paving the way for a by-election. The notification was published in the Telangana Gazette on September 26, following a Telangana High Court order on September 18 that disqualified Nagender under the anti-defection law. The High Court held that Nagender, elected on a BRS ticket in 2023, had defected by contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad as a Congress candidate. The court set aside the Assembly Speaker's earlier decision in his favour. The Supreme Court upheld the disqualification and refused relief.

Nagender's disqualification is effective from April 23, 2024, the date he filed his Lok Sabha nomination. The by-election must be held within six months. BRS working president K T Rama Rao welcomed the verdict and said other MLAs who crossed over would also face disqualification. Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao called it a victory for democracy and demanded that MLAs who joined Congress resign. Congress, BRS and BJP have begun preliminary preparations for the bypoll. The Election Commission will announce the poll schedule.