Working, not shirking: Most MPs from North region post decent Parliament attendance

At the end of the fourth session of the 18th Lok Sabha, performance statistics from the Parliament portal reveal that most MPs from the region preferred working over shirking.

Between the first and the fourth sessions of the Lower House from June 24, 2024, to April 4, 2025, there were 68 sittings in all. An analysis of the attendance of the Lok Sabha MPs from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh places Congress MPs at the top of the charts.

Congress MPs Amar Singh (Fatehgarh Sahib) and Varun Chaudhary (Ambala) recorded their presence in the attendance register on each day the House sat. Both posted a cent per cent attendance in the current Lok Sabha since it commenced.

The duo is closely followed by Congress MP from Chandigarh Manish Tewari, who clocked 97.05 per cent attendance, missing only two of the 68 sittings. Deepender Singh Hooda (Rohtak) and Satpal Brahmchari (Sonepat) of the Congress and Dharambir Singh (Bhiwani-Mahendragarh) of the BJP have an attendance of 95.58 per cent each, clocking 65 sittings.

18th LS attendance (No of days MPs signed)

Total sittings: 68

Punjab

Congress: Amar Singh (68), Sukhjinder Randhawa (63), Gurjit Aujla (61), Sher Singh Ghubaya (60), Dharamvira Gandhi (54), Charanjit Singh Channi (49), Amrinder Raja Warring (48)

AAP: Malvinder Singh Kang (64); Gurmeet Hayer (57), Raj Kumar Chabbewal (34)

SAD: Harsimrat Kaur Badal (43)

Independent: Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa (25)

Himachal

Anurag Thakur (64), Rajeev Bharadwaj (64), Suresh Kashyap (54), Kangana Ranaut (52)

Haryana

Congress: Varun Chaudhary (68); Satpal Brahmchari (65), Deepender Hooda (65), Kumari Selja (61), Jai Prakash (64)

BJP: Dharambir Singh (65), Naveen Jindal (51)

Chandigarh

Manish Tewari (66)

Among the four BJP MPs from Himachal, Anurag Thakur (Hamirpur) and Rajeev Bharadwaj (Kangra) have a high attendance of 94.11 per cent each, having missed only four of the 68 sittings. Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut (Mandi) clocked the lowest attendance of 76.47 per cent whereas the count stood slightly higher at 79.41 per cent for Suresh Kashyap (Shimla). Kangana attended 52 sittings and Kashyap 54.

The lowest 25 sittings were for Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, an Independent MP from Punjab’s Faridkot reserved seat. Among Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party MPs, Malvinder Singh Kang has the highest 94.11 per cent (64 sittings) attendance, followed by Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer at 83.82 per cent (57 sittings) and Raj Kumar Chabbewal at 50 per cent (34 sittings). Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal clocked an attendance of 63.23 per cent (43 sittings).

In Haryana, all MPs recorded an attendance of 75 per cent and above. Naveen Jindal (Kurukshetra) of the BJP had 75 per cent attendance while Congress MPs Kumari Selja (Sirsa) and Jai Prakash (Karnal) attended the House for 61 days (89.70 per cent) and 64 days (94.11 per cent), respectively.

The record of ML Khattar, Rao Inderjit and Krishan Pal Gurjar is not available on the Parliament website. According to rules, ministers and leaders holding constitutional posts, including leaders of opposition in the two Houses—Rahul Gandhi (Lok Sabha) and Mallikarjun Kharge (Rajya Sabha)—are not required to record their signatures in the attendance system.

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha was held from June 24 to July 3, 2024, and had seven sittings. The second session from July 22 to August 12, 2024, had 15 sittings. In the third session from November 25 to December 20, 2024, there were 20 sittings. In the 2025 Budget session, there were 26 sittings (nine in the first half from January 31 to February 13 and 17 in the second half from March 10 to April 4).

India