HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court verdict disqualifying Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender has set off a fresh round of political calculations in the three major parties, with the BRS and BJP preparing for a possible byelection and the Congress weighing its options.
The political discussions began soon after the court declared the Khairatabad seat vacant, with all three parties now turning their attention to the possibility of a fresh contest.
For the Congress, the immediate question is how to handle Nagender’s political future. He had contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha election in 2024 on a Congress B Form after leaving the BRS, while continuing as the sitting BRS MLA from Khairatabad. Congress circles are now discussing whether he could be given the party ticket for the byelection or accommodated in the Legislative Council or another position.
At the same time, former Jubilee Hills MLA P Vijaya Reddy, daughter of late P Janardhan Reddy, is also understood to be interested in the Congress ticket. The party will have to weigh the competing claims as it works out its strategy for the constituency.
The BRS, meanwhile, has begun discussing possible candidates. Party sources said MLC Dasoju Sravan and Sai Kiran Yadav, son of Talasani Srinivas Yadav, are among those being considered for the seat.
The party is, however, expected to wait before finalising its candidate and is focusing on preparations for a possible byelection. The BRS sees the contest as another opportunity to take on the Congress in Hyderabad, particularly after losing two of its sitting Assembly seats in the city — Cantonment and Jubilee Hills — to the Congress in byelections.
The BJP is also working on its strategy. BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy had filed the petition seeking Nagender’s disqualification, while BRS MLA Padi Koushik Reddy had also pursued the matter.
BJP leaders are now looking at a possible byelection in Khairatabad as an opportunity to test the party’s strength in the constituency, which it won in 2014.
All major players set sights on bypoll & beyond
For the BRS, however, the calculations extend beyond Khairatabad.
The party is also keeping a close watch on the Ethics Committee proceedings against Huzurabad MLA Padi Koushik Reddy and MLCs Tatha Madhu and Naveen Reddy. Any recommendation for their disqualification could lead to further byelections, opening up another set of contests between the Congress and BRS.
The Congress has been pursuing the complaints against the three legislators through the respective Ethics Committees. BRS sources said the legislators are likely to approach the courts if the proceedings result in disqualification, while the presiding officers of the two Houses have maintained that the prescribed constitutional procedure is being followed.
The prospect of more byelections is therefore keeping the BRS leadership on its toes. Having already lost Cantonment and Jubilee Hills in byelections, the party will have to prepare for the possibility of defending its position in another set of constituencies.
In Khairatabad, meanwhile, the Congress has its own decision to make. Nagender remains a potential claimant, while other aspirants are also looking at the seat. For the party leadership, the question is not only who should contest but how the constituency fits into its wider strategy in Hyderabad.
The verdict has thus opened up a contest in which the three parties are already looking beyond the vacant seat and towards the political calculations that will shape the byelection.