Hyderabad, September 28, 2026: The Khairatabad Assembly constituency has officially been declared vacant following the disqualification of Danam Nagender as a member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly.
The Telangana Legislative Assembly issued a gazette notification on September 26, stating that Nagender stood disqualified with effect from April 23, 2024, under Paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule read with Article 191(2) of the Constitution. The notification was issued by Legislative Assembly Secretary Rendla Thirupathi in pursuance of the Telangana High Court judgment delivered on September 18.
Nagender was elected from Khairatabad in the 2023 Assembly elections on a BRS ticket. He subsequently joined the Congress and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket while continuing as an MLA.
The Telangana High Court, in a judgment delivered by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin, held that Nagender attracted the anti-defection provisions after contesting the Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate while being a BRS MLA. The court set aside the decision of Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, who had earlier dismissed petitions seeking Nagender’s disqualification.
The High Court also declared the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant and directed that copies of its order be communicated to the Telangana Legislative Assembly Secretary and the Election Commission of India.
Nagender subsequently approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order. On September 24, the Supreme Court dismissed his plea, finding no ground to interfere with the High Court judgment. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana upheld the disqualification.
The disqualification petitions had been filed by BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy and BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy after the Assembly Speaker rejected their pleas in March 2026.
Meanwhile, Danam Nagender has said he is confident of winning the Khairatabad by-election, stating that its result would surprise his political opponents. He also said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) would have no impact on the constituency.
The formal declaration of the vacancy now clears the way for the Election Commission to initiate the process for a by-election to the Khairatabad Assembly constituency.
