Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court expanding the scope of “voluntarily giving up membership” (of the party on whose ticket the legislator was elected) while disqualifying Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender may leave the ruling Congress in a tight spot, with the Opposition now pressing to bring Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari, who campaigned for the Congress candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, under the expanded scope.
Srihari, who won on BRS ticket, campaigned for his daughter Dr Kavya who contested from Warangal Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket and won in 2024. The High Court relied heavily on previous rulings of the Supreme Court which said that the scope of voluntary resignation should not be restricted to submitting the resignation, and that certain anti-party activities were construed as voluntary giving up of membership.
Then-Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu had disqualified veteran Janata Dal (U) leader Sharad Yadav in 2017, stating that attending events organised by the Opposition party would amount to giving up membership of the original party. As per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which deals with anti-defection, defying the party Whip and voluntarily giving up of membership formed grounds for disqualification.
“Given the interpretation of the High Court, that contesting on another party’s ticket while serving as a legislator with one party amounts to voluntarily giving up of membership, anti-party activities like campaigning by the legislator of one party for the candidate of another party also falls in the expanded scope,” advocate T.V. Ramana Rao, who argued for the BRS, pointed out.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is said to met with his close aides and legal experts to discuss the High Court order while legislative affairs minister D. Sridhar Babu called on Speaker G. Prasad Kumar and discussed the fallout immediately after the House was adjourned sine die.
Meanwhile, Nagender announced that he would seek re-election.
“We can take the gamble if the byelection is restricted to Khairatabad alone,” sources close to the Chief Minister said. “The Congress will definitely have a better chance in a triangular contest and can repeat the results of Secunderabad Cantonment and Jubilee Hills bypolls,” the sources said. This will help strengthening the narrative that there was no anti-incumbency and would place the party ahead in the race for next general elections, the sources added. “It is better we exhaust all the legal options and cross the bridge (of bypolls) as and when they become inevitable,” said a senior minister.
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