As expected, Telangana Assembly Speaker G. Prasad Kumar has dismissed the disqualification petitions filed against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari for allegedly joining the ruling Congress after being elected to the Assembly on BRS ticket.

The dismissal closes the disqualification petitions filed against the 10 BRS MLAs by the main opposition party alleging that the legislators defected to the ruling Congress attracting provisions under Schedule X, anti defection law of the Constitution. The Speaker delivered his verdict on Wednesday (March 11, 2026), a day before the petitions filed in Supreme Court — by the BRS —leadership against the delays in finalising the disqualification petitions— is scheduled to come up for hearing in the Apex Court.

The Speaker, chairing the Tribunal under the X Schedule, conducted hearings on the disqualification petitions and ruled that there was no conclusive documentary or legally sustainable evidence to show that the MLAs voluntarily gave up their membership of the BRS as alleged by the main Opposition party.

The BRS moved the petitions citing that the MLAs gravitated towards the ruling party since the Congress formed the Government. They cited instances of the MLAs attending public programmes along with Congress leaders and expressing support for the Government and thereby getting appointed as Chairpersons of State run corporations.

One of the MLAs, Arekapudi Gandhi, was subsequently appointed as Public Accounts Committee Chairman. This, the BRS claimed, amounted to voluntarily giving up the party membership and attracted the provisions under the Anti Defection Law. The Speaker however asserted that the petitioners could not submit legally sustainable proof to substantiate their charges and hence, he dismissed the petitions.

Eight MLAs were alleged to have be moved closely with the Congress leaders while Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender unsuccessfully contested from Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on the Congress ticket despite being MLA of the BRS. Mr. Srihari on his part campaigned extensively for his daughter Kadiyam Kavya who won Warangal Lok Sabha seat from the Congress.

The BRS was firm on its conviction that the MLAs had indeed defected to the ruling party. One of the reasons why the party did not field its nominee for the recent Legislative Council elections was said to be the disqualification petitions against its MLAs. The party was reportedly of the view that its case would be weakened in the event of fielding its candidate and serving whip to MLAs asking them to cast vote for the party nominee.

The BRS alleged that the Speaker acted at the behest of the Congress at a time when sufficient proofs of the MLAs joining the Congress were submitted and this was tantamount to “murdering democracy”. The Speaker has earlier dismissed petitions filed against Tellam Venkat Rao, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Kale Yadaiah, M. Sanjay Kumar, Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy, Arekapudi Gandhi, G. Mahipal Reddy and T. Prakash Goud. The latest development leaves the party leadership with no option but to take legal recourse again.