Hyderabad | January 15, 2026: Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on Thursday dismissed disqualification petitions filed against two Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs who were accused of defecting to the ruling Congress party.
The petitions were filed against Kale Yadaiah, MLA from Chevella, and Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, MLA from Banswada. With this decision, the total number of dismissed disqualification petitions has now risen to seven.
Earlier in December, the Speaker had rejected similar petitions against five other BRS legislators — Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, and Arekapudi Gandhi.
Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar confirmed that notices had been issued earlier to 10 BRS MLAs who were facing disqualification proceedings following allegations that they had switched allegiance to the Congress.
Following the latest dismissals, three disqualification petitions — against Kadiyam Srihari, Danam Nagendar, and Dr. M. Sanjay Kumar — are still pending before the Speaker.
The issue has drawn judicial scrutiny as well. On November 17, the Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to the Telangana Speaker for delaying decisions on the disqualification pleas related to the alleged defections.
The political developments continue to attract attention amid ongoing debates over anti-defection laws and legislative accountability in the state.
