Danam Nagender Disqualified as MLA, Official Gazette Released

The Telangana Legislative Assembly Secretariat has officially disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender, declaring the Assembly constituency vacant through a gazette notification. The development follows the Telangana High Court’s recent judgment concerning Nagender’s political switch and his subsequent candidature in the Lok Sabha elections.

Assembly Secretary Dr R. Tirupathi issued Gazette Notification No. 858-A, formally announcing that the Khairatabad Assembly seat had fallen vacant. The notification states that the decision was taken in accordance with the High Court’s judgment delivered on September 18, 2026, in Writ Petition Nos. 8409 and 8647.

The Secretariat cited Paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, along with Article 191(2), as the legal basis for Nagender’s disqualification from the Telangana Legislative Assembly. According to the notification, the disqualification is effective retrospectively from April 23, 2024, the date on which Nagender filed his nomination for the Lok Sabha elections.

As a result, the Khairatabad Assembly constituency has officially been declared vacant from April 23, 2024. The retrospective effect of the order is a significant aspect of the notification, as it fixes the date of disqualification and the vacancy of the seat to the date specified in the High Court proceedings.

Nagender had won the Khairatabad Assembly constituency on a BRS ticket in the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. He later moved to the Congress and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate. The petitions before the High Court were related to his continuation as an MLA following his political shift and decision to contest the parliamentary election.

Following the High Court ruling, the Assembly Secretariat has now completed the formal process by issuing the gazette notification. With the Khairatabad seat officially vacant, the constituency is now set for a by-election, subject to the election authorities initiating the necessary process.

The Telangana government confirms that its gazette publications are official government notifications, while the current Assembly members page lists Nagender under Khairatabad.