High Court Cancels Adilabad Local Body MLC Election, Fines BRS "Winner"

The BRS, which is reeling under the impact of a large number of its leaders joining the ruling Congress after its defeat in the Assembly elections, has received yet another blow.

The Telangana High Court has ruled that the 2022 election of the party's MLC Dande Vitthal for the Adilabad local body seat was invalid.

The court pronounced its verdict on Friday on a petition filed by Congress leader Pattireddy Rajeshwar Reddy.

Responding to the verdict of the HC, Vitthal said that he would challenge the High Court's verdict in the Supreme Court as soon as possible.

He said that the verdict came on the grounds that the withdrawal of the nomination of another candidate did not take place properly, and that the withdrawal of the candidature of some other candidate was an affair that had nothing to do with his election.

"I hope that I will get justice in the Supreme Court and get a stay on the High Court verdict," Vitthal said.

Dande Vitthal was elected as the MLC in 2022. He filed his nomination as the official candidate of the BRS. Another BRS leader, Pattireddy Rajeshwar Reddy, too had filed his nomination as an independent candidate. However, Vitthal allegedly submitted a letter to the EC officials with the signature of Reddy forged. It led to the withdrawal of the nomination papers of Reddy.

Realising the matter much later, Reddy approached the High Court. He told the court that he had not withdrawn his nomination, and that his signature was forged. He urged the HC to cancel the election of Vitthal as the MLC.