Danam Nagender disqualified as Khairatabad MLA: HC verdict and by-election outlook

Why Danam Nagender trended in India

Search interest in "danam nagender" (దానం నాగేందర్) spiked in India on 18 September 2026 after Telugu news outlets reported a Telangana High Court decision involving the Khairatabad MLA. Google Trends recorded approximately 1,000 searches for the term with 100 per cent growth that day, but the trend itself only measures public attention, not the legal outcome.

High Court disqualification verdict

On Friday, 18 September 2026, the Telangana High Court disqualified Danam Nagender as an MLA. The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin, heard disqualification petitions filed by BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and BJP legislature party leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy.

The court overturned the Assembly Speaker’s earlier rejection of those petitions and ruled against Nagender.

Background: BRS MLA, Congress Lok Sabha contest

Danam Nagender was elected to the Telangana Assembly on a BRS ticket from Khairatabad. He later contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on a Congress B-form without resigning from BRS, according to the petitions. Petitioners’ senior lawyers Gandra Mohan Rao and K Vivek Reddy told the High Court that Nagender had not resigned from BRS primary membership and had not announced Congress primary membership anywhere. They argued that he remained a BRS member in Assembly records.

Nagender’s legal team opposed the petitioners’ arguments, contending that merely contesting for another party did not automatically mean loss of Assembly membership. After hearing the arguments, the division bench pronounced disqualification against him.

Khairatabad seat vacancy and by-election

The disqualification means the Khairatabad Assembly seat falls vacant. Oneindia Telugu reported on 18 September 2026 that a by-election will be held for Khairatabad. No election date or schedule is confirmed in the available sources, and the Election Commission has not announced one in the fetched material.

What is confirmed and what is not

• Confirmed: The Telangana High Court disqualified Danam Nagender on 18 September 2026.
• Confirmed: The Speaker had earlier rejected the disqualification petitions; the High Court overturned that rejection.
• Expected but undated: A by-election for the Khairatabad seat.
• Not verified by search data: Google Trends interest does not confirm the court verdict.

Readers can read the Telugu Oneindia report published on 18 September 2026 for the full case details. Search data comes from Google Trends India.