The Telangana High Court's judgment disqualifying Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender for defecting from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi to the Congress two years ago has triggered a fresh debate in state political circles over whether the Congress high command will take the risk of fielding him again in the impending by-election.
The High Court on Friday set aside Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar's earlier decision and disqualified Nagender under the anti-defection law, declaring the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant.
The court held that Nagender incurred disqualification after contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket while continuing as a BRS MLA. The disqualification was made effective from April 23, 2024.
With the vacancy now communicated to the Assembly and the Election Commission, attention has shifted to the Congress's next move: whether it will stand by the politician whose defection from the BRS had helped the party expand its political footprint in Hyderabad.
Nagender himself has indicated that he is ready to contest the Khairatabad election if a bypoll is held. Reacting to the High Court verdict, he said he would contest whenever the election schedule was announced and expressed confidence that he would win.
He also said he had not yet decided whether to challenge the High Court judgment in the Supreme Court. However, he did not clearly state on which party's ticket he would contest. That leaves the key question with the Congress high command.
Nagender has already been formally associated with the Congress since March 2024 and contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket. He had also publicly described himself as a Congress MLA and campaigned for the party after joining it.
His supporters are therefore expected to argue that denying him the Khairatabad ticket after his disqualification could send an uncertain political message to leaders who crossed over to the Congress.
There is also Nagender's electoral record. He has represented Hyderabad constituencies several times and has won the Assembly election from Khairatabad in the past. His earlier political career includes stints in the Congress, TDP and BRS.
But the high command has another problem, as the High Court verdict has created an awkward situation for the Congress leadership. Senior Congress leaders have described the disqualification as an embarrassment for the party's national leadership.
This is because the case concerns a legislator who won on a BRS ticket and subsequently contested the Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate. Some party leaders have also questioned the state leadership's handling of defections.
This could make the decision on Nagender's candidature more complicated. If the Congress nominates him again, the party would effectively be asking voters to re-elect a legislator who has just lost his Assembly membership in an anti-defection case.
If it chooses another candidate, Nagender could seek an alternative political arrangement, potentially making it more difficult for the Congress to retain the seat.
According to some reports, former Jubilee Hills MLA P Vijaya Reddy, daughter of former Congress leader P Janardhan Reddy, is among those understood to be interested in the Congress ticket. The party therefore has to weigh Nagender's claim against the interests of other aspirants and its broader strategy for Hyderabad.
There is also speculation that the Congress could accommodate Nagender through the Legislative Council or another political position rather than give him the Khairatabad ticket.
Such a move would allow the party to retain him within its political structure while opening the Assembly contest to another candidate. This possibility has been discussed in political circles, but there is no official decision yet.
For now, there is no official announcement from the Congress high command that Nagender will be renominated. The High Court verdict has merely created the vacancy; the Election Commission is yet to announce the by-election schedule, and the Congress has not finalised its candidate.
