The Telangana Assembly Speaker will hear disqualification petitions against BRS MLA Danam Nagender on January 30, even as similar pleas against other MLAs have been dismissed.

Hyderabad: The disqualification case involving BRS MLA Danam Nagender will come up for hearing on January 30, with Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar issuing notices to all concerned parties.

Nagender, elected from the Khairatabad constituency on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi ticket in 2023, has been asked to appear before the Speaker in response to a petition seeking his disqualification for allegedly switching allegiance to the ruling Indian National Congress. The petition was moved by BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy, who has also been summoned.

A parallel petition filed by BJP floor leader A Maheshwar Reddy will be heard on the same day. Nagender has submitted an affidavit requesting dismissal of the pleas, stating that he has neither resigned from the BRS nor received any formal communication about suspension from the party. He has maintained that his participation in a Congress meeting in March 2024 was in a personal capacity.

The Speaker has, in recent months, rejected disqualification petitions against seven other BRS MLAs accused of defecting in 2024, citing lack of documentary proof and ruling that they continue to be members of the BRS. Orders are still awaited in the case of MLA Sanjay Kumar, while hearings involving Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari were earlier deferred due to pending replies.

The BRS has alleged that Nagender contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket and that Srihari campaigned for his daughter, Congress candidate Kadiyam Kaviya, in Warangal. Both leaders have denied formally joining the Congress, saying their interactions with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy were aimed at securing development funds.

Analysis:
The January 30 hearing is being closely watched as it could set the tone for future defection cases in Telangana. With multiple petitions already dismissed on technical grounds, the Speaker’s approach suggests that concrete evidence rather than political optics will be decisive. This assessment is analytical opinion; all factual details above are based on the original report.