MLA Defections in Telangana

The Supreme Court (SC) has expressed its concern regarding the delay in deciding pending petitions seeking the disqualification of 10 BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) MLAs who switched their allegiance to the governing Congress party in Telangana. The SC was critical of the attempts made by the counsel representing the Telangana assembly speaker and the state to postpone a decision by the apex court.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran made strong remarks about the implications of such delays. They stated that it cannot be a situation where the legal process appears successful but ultimately fails to deliver justice because the assembly's term ends, allowing the allegedly wrongdoing MLAs to escape disqualification despite violating the anti-defection law. 

Justice Gavai said, "People are not interested in SC deciding academic questions on disqualification. If the wrongdoers continue as MLAs and enjoy their full term without the anti-defection law kicking in, what happens to democracy and democratic values?"

The bench had previously asked senior advocates A M Singhvi and Mukul Rohatgi, who were opposing any SC directive to the Speaker on this matter, to propose a timeline for the Speaker to make a decision.

The 10 BRS MLAs facing disqualification proceedings for defecting to Congress, are: 

  1. Pocharam Srinivas Reddy Parige [Other political affiliations: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (2011–2024) Telugu Desam Party (1984–2011)]
  2. Kale Yadaiah [MLA from Chevella on Congress ticket in 2014,  BRS MLA in 2018]
  3. Dr M Sanjay Kumar [Bharat Rashtra Samithi (2018- 2024)]
  4. Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy [Bharat Rashtra Samithi (2014–2024, 2024–present), Indian National Congress (2024), Telugu Desam Party (until 2014)]
  5. Gudem Mahipal Reddy [BRS]
  6. Tolkanti Prakash Goud [TDP, BRS]
  7. Arekapudi Gandhi [Telugu Desam Party (2016), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (2016-2024)]
  8. Danam Nagender [BRS, Telugu Desam Party]
  9. Tellam Venkat Rao [BRS]
  10. Kadiyam Srihari [Bharat Rashtra Samithi (2013–2024) Telugu Desam Party (until 2013)]
All of them have maintained that they have not joined the Congress and are officially still in the BRS. Official records of the state assembly also list them as BRS legislators.

Following numerous petitions in the High Court and Supreme Court, the Speaker issued notices to the defected MLAs in January 2025. However, the MLAs allegedly requested more time to respond.

The Supreme Court is pushing for a swift resolution to the disqualification petitions. It has now formally issued a notice to the Speaker and set March 25, 2025 as the date to decide the matter.

In June 2025, the Supreme Court directed the Telangana assembly speaker to decide on the disqualification petitions of 10 BRS MLAs within three months. It has said Parliament must take a call on the effectiveness of the anti-defection law mechanism, which has been virtually blunted due to the widely-perceived partisanship of speakers, leading to delays in deciding disqualification petitions against political turncoats.

Earlier during former CM K Chandrashekar Rao’s tenure, about 36 MLAs from various parties joined the BRS, with two of them even being inducted into the Cabinet.