Three incumbent DMK MPs, who topped the attendance chart of legislators from Tamil Nadu in the 17th Lok Sabha, have been dropped from the fray in the upcoming poll.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance won 38 out of 39 seats, except Theni, where P. Raveendranath Kumar of the AIADMK emerged the victor.
According to data published by PRS Legislative Research, the average attendance of MPs from Tamil Nadu in the 17th Lok Sabha, corresponding to the period between June 2019 and February 2024, stands at 74%, which is five percentage points lesser than the national average of 79%.
The data show that of all the Lok Sabha MPs from the State, Dharmapuri MP S. Senthil Kumar and Tenkasi (SC) MP Dhanush M. Kumar topped the chart with 98.91% attendance. Barring the Budget Session in 2021 and the Winter Session in 2023, they attended all the sittings of the 17th Lok Sabha.
They also topped the list in terms of the number of questions asked in the Lower House. Mr. Senthil Kumar asked 511 questions, while Mr. Dhanush Kumar raised 490 questions. The only other MP from Tamil Nadu with more than 90% attendance was Pon. Gautham Sigamani, who represents the Kallakurichi seat. He attended 90.51% of the Lower House sittings. All three were first-time MPs.
Though the ruling party is directly contesting these three seats again, it chose to drop the incumbents. It has fielded Rani Srikumar from Tenkasi (SC), D. Malaiyarasan from Kallakurichi, and A. Mani from Dharmapuri.
S. Jagathrakshakan from Arakkonam, T.R.V.S. Ramesh from Cuddalore, and S.S. Palanimanickam from Thanjavur participated in the least number of sittings in the Lower House, with an attendance percentage of 35.77%, 42.7% and 50.73%, respectively. The DMK has renominated Mr. Jagathrakshakan from the same seat and dropped the other two incumbents.
