Supreme Court verdict on turncoat MLAs jolts Congress, boosts BRS morale

The Supreme Court has directed the Telangana Assembly Speaker to decide within 90 days on the disqualification of 10 BRS MLAs who defected to Congress, paving the way for possible by-elections. The ruling places pressure on the Congress-led government, which faces criticism for sheltering defectors while BRS celebrates the legal development as a moral victory.

Hyderabad: With the Supreme Court‘s directive to take a time-bound decision on the disqualification of 10 BRS MLAs, bye-elections to the 10 Assembly constituencies represented by them appear to be inevitable. The next three months, and what follows after that, could see the Telangana political scenario undergo major changes.

Speaker Gaddam Prasad is expected to seek legal opinion before making a decision. However, legal experts have observed that the court orders leave little room for any delay and have set a precedent of sorts, reminding that constitutional safeguards cannot be bent to suit political convenience.

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The future of the defected MLAs now hangs in the balance. If the Speaker disqualifies them, they could face bypolls in their constituencies, which will test their personal clout and the Congress’s credibility.

“As per the Supreme Court directives, the Speaker must decide within the next 90 days, i.e. before the end of October. Thus, the byelections might be held within six months thereafter,” a BRS legal cell representative said.

Sources in the Congress said the party is likely to field the defected MLAs as its candidates. They include Danam Nagender (Khairatabad), Kadiam Srihari (Station Ghanpur), Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy (Gadwal), Tellam Venkat Rao, (Bhadrachalam), Gudem Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru), Kale Yadaiah (Chevella), Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), Dr K Sanjay (Jagtial), Arekapudi Gandhi (Serilingampally) and Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada).

They also did not rule out dissent within the party from the contesting candidates of the 2023 elections and other aspirants. However, the party leadership might make them alternative offers including nominated posts.

For the Congress, which has so far remained silent on the legitimacy of the defected MLAs, this verdict comes as a blow. It puts the party on the backfoot and forces the Revanth Reddy government to confront the uncomfortable optics of sheltering turncoats who continue to enjoy official positions without facing the constitutional consequences of defection.

The Supreme Court’s observation that Speakers should not permit delay tactics and must act decisively has only put the Congress in a moral ambiguity.

For the BRS, the verdict is nothing short of a moral victory. After months of legal and political struggle, the party has finally secured judicial acknowledgement of its long-standing grievance. BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s call for bypoll readiness energises the cadre, giving the party a renewed sense of purpose after the setback in the Assembly polls.