BRS Defection Row: Danam Nagender Says He Will Resign if Revanth Reddy Asks, Disqualification Case Reaches Supreme Court

Hyderabad, Dec 2025 : Former minister and Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender, one of the 10 Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislators facing disqualification for allegedly defecting to the ruling Congress party, said on Friday that he is willing to resign if Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directs him to do so. However, he clarified that no such request has been made so far.

Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad, Nagender said the issue of resignation has not come up yet, but he would respect and follow the Chief Minister’s instruction if asked to step down. He also pointed out that the matter of disqualification is now before the Supreme Court and that he would present his legal arguments at the appropriate forum.

Displaying confidence in his political career, Nagender said he has never shied away from electoral battles. “Fighting elections is in my blood. I have contested elections 11 times in my political life, and I am not afraid of facing the people again,” he said. He further asserted that Telangana would witness accelerated development if Revanth Reddy continued as Chief Minister for the next decade.

Nagender had recently sought additional time to submit his response to the disqualification notice issued by Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. The Speaker had already completed hearings on the disqualification petitions against eight other MLAs accused of defecting from BRS to Congress. On November 20, fresh notices were served to Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari, directing them to respond by November 23. Both legislators sought more time, making it the third instance in which the Speaker had to issue notices to them after earlier deadlines were missed.

The BRS had earlier moved petitions seeking the disqualification of 10 MLAs who were elected to the Telangana Assembly on the party’s ticket in the 2023 elections but allegedly switched their loyalties to the Congress in 2024. The MLAs against whom hearings have already been completed include Kale Yadaiah, Krishna Mohan Reddy, G. Mahipal Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, Sanjay Kumar, Arekapudi Gandhi, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Tellam Venkat Rao. After concluding arguments from both sides, the Speaker has reserved his orders in these eight cases.

The BRS has alleged that these MLAs openly joined the Congress and even occupied seats on the Treasury Benches in the Assembly. However, the accused legislators have denied formally joining the ruling party, maintaining that they merely met Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to seek development funds for their constituencies.

In Nagender’s case, the BRS alleged that he had clearly crossed over to the Congress by contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Secunderabad constituency on a Congress ticket. The party also accused Kadiyam Srihari of openly campaigning for his daughter, Kadiyam Kaviya, who contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Warangal constituency as a Congress candidate.

Adding a significant legal dimension to the case, the Supreme Court on November 17 issued a contempt notice to the Telangana Assembly Speaker for failing to comply with its earlier directive to decide the disqualification pleas within a specified time frame. On July 31, a Bench headed by then Chief Justice B.R. Gavai had directed the Speaker to resolve the disqualification cases within three calendar months.

Terming the delay as the “grossest kind of contempt,” the apex court issued notices to the Speaker and other concerned parties on pleas filed by BRS leaders. It also took cognisance of a separate petition filed by the Speaker’s office seeking an extension of eight more weeks to decide the matter. The Supreme Court has now posted the case for further hearing after four weeks.

With the political and legal battle intensifying, the outcome of the disqualification cases is expected to have a major impact on Telangana’s political landscape.