The spirit of the anti-defection law, which exists to ensure that MLAs cannot shift sides after winning on a party ticket, has been subverted consistently in Telangana over the last two terms of the state legislature. 

In the last term (2014-2019) 26 Congress and TDP MLAs switched over to the TRS at various points in time and the Speaker kept demands for their disqualification pending till the end of the term. This made it impossible to challenge the issue in a court of law as that can be done only after the Speaker decides on the matter and eventually the matter became infructuous as the term came to an end.

A little over six months into the present term, 12 Congress MLAs have decided to merge with the TRS and the Assembly Speaker has allowed such a merger. The Congress is the principal opposition party with just 18 MLAs in the 119-member state Assembly. This decision may be challenged in a court of law and the Speaker’s decision isn’t final. 
 
The law as it stands today, introduced in the Tenth Schedule in 1985 and later amended in 2004 to prevent horse-trading and defections, explicitly states that those who split or resign from a party after an election will lose membership of the House, and the decision on disqualification will have to be taken by the Speaker.