Even as the Telangana State Legislative Assembly Secretariat issued a gazette notification declaring the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant following the disqualification of sitting MLA Danam Nagender, it appears that the by-election is unlikely to be held in the near future.
The reason is that Congress leader P Vijaya Reddy filed a petition in the Telangana High Court on Thursday seeking a halt to the Khairatabad bypoll process.
She asked the court not to allow the issuance of an election notification until it decides her pending 2024 election petition concerning Danam Nagender.
Vijaya Reddy, daughter of former minister P Janardhan Reddy, filed the fresh petition against the Election Commission of India and Danam Nagender.
She sought continuation of the earlier legal proceedings before the authorities begin the by-election process.
In the 2023 Assembly election in Khairatabad, Danam Nagender contested as the BRS candidate, while Vijaya Reddy represented the Congress. Nagender defeated Vijaya Reddy by 22,010 votes.
Vijaya Reddy later challenged Nagender's election in the High Court, alleging that he had failed to disclose important information about the assets of his wife and dependants in his election affidavit.
Her original petition sought a declaration that Nagender's election was invalid and asked the court to set it aside. The case remained pending when the latest petition was filed.
Following Nagender's disqualification under the anti-defection law, the Election Commission notified that the vacancy had arisen with effect from April 23, 2024. The same was mentioned in the gazette notification issued by the Speaker.
However, Vijaya Reddy has now asked the High Court to stop the by-election process until it decides her earlier election petition. Her latest plea names the Election Commission of India and Danam Nagender as respondents.
The High Court's response to her request will determine whether the pending election litigation affects the next steps in the Khairatabad bypoll process.
Interestingly, the Election Commission of India also informed the High Court that it would not notify the Khairatabad Assembly by-election until Vijaya Reddy's pending election petition is finally resolved.
So, until the issue is settled in court, the by-election to the Khairatabad seat is unlikely to be held.
