BRS filed the disqualification pleas, alleging that the MLAs had defected to the Congress and hence, were liable for disqualification under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
Published Jan 15, 2026 | 4:08 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 15, 2026 | 4:08 PM
Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. (Wikimedia Commons)
Synopsis: The controversy has its roots in the 2023 Assembly elections, which saw the Congress return to power, ending the BRS’s decade-long rule in the state. Subsequently, at least 10 BRS MLAs allegedly defected to the Congress, prompting the party to move disqualification petitions.
Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, on Thursday, January 15, ruled that MLAs Kale Yadaiah (Chevella) and Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada) could continue as members of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
The significant development in the state’s protracted anti-defection controversy came as the Speaker dismissed the disqualification petitions against the two legislators, citing a lack of evidence.
BRS filed the disqualification pleas, alleging that the MLAs had defected to the Congress and hence, were liable for disqualification under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
In December 2025, the Speaker had rejected similar petitions against five other BRS MLAs—Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadrachalam), Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy (Gadwal), Gudem Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru), T Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), and Arekapudi Gandhi (Serilingampally)—on grounds of insufficient proof of formal defection.
The petitions, filed by BRS leaders soon after the alleged defections had begun in early 2024, accused the MLAs of switching loyalty to the Congress after winning the 2023 Assembly elections on behalf of the BRS.
BRS contended that the legislators had participated in Congress programmes, met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy under the pretext of constituency-related work, and, in some cases, campaigned for the Congress—acts it argued amounted to voluntary abandonment of BRS membership.
However, the Speaker, acting as the presiding authority under the anti-defection law, held that the petitioners failed to establish that the MLAs had formally joined the Congress.
In his earlier orders and Thursday’s pronouncement, he underlined that meetings with ruling party leaders or public appearances alongside them, by themselves, did not constitute defection in the absence of concrete proof.
The controversy has its roots in the 2023 Assembly elections, which saw the Congress return to power, ending the BRS’s decade-long rule in the state. Subsequently, at least 10 BRS MLAs allegedly defected to the Congress, prompting the party to move disqualification petitions.
In July 2025, the Supreme Court directed the Speaker to adjudicate the pending cases within three months. It subsequently issued contempt notices in November 2025 over delays, which accelerated the proceedings.
With the clearance of five MLAs in December and Thursday’s ruling on Yadaiah and Srinivas Reddy, the total number of MLAs declared as having not defected stood at seven.
The BRS has vowed to challenge the Speaker’s orders in court, terming them politically motivated and contrary to constitutional principles.
A decision on the remaining three MLAs, Danam Nagender (Khairatabad), Kadiam Srihari (Station Ghanpur), and M Sanjay Kumar (Jagtial), has been pending. These cases have proved more complicated, with some legislators, including Nagender—who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket—and Srihari, receiving repeated notices for non-response and seeking more time.
The BRS has accused the Congress-led government of shielding defectors to bolster its numerical strength in the Assembly.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
