CHRI report reveals wide gaps in MPs' attendance during Parliament's Budget Session 2026

A firstofitskind study by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative CHRI has revealed sharp disparities in the attendance of Members of Parliament during the Budget Session 2026 with smaller political parties and some states outperforming larger parties and several major regionsThe report prepared by CHRI Director Venkatesh Nayak and intern Aadi Sardesai analysed attendance records available on the official websites of both Houses of Parliament to identify partywise and statewise trendsldquoWe have examined the attendance record as available on the website of both Houses for the 2026 Budget Session to spot political partywise trends and patterns We have also tried to compare their attendance record from the point of view of the States and Union Territories they representrdquo the report saidThe study added that the findings revealed ldquoClear trends that citizens have the right to knowrdquoAttendance register remains key measure of MPsrsquo participationThe report noted that parliamentary attendance is not merely a procedural requirement but an important indicator of representativesrsquo engagement with legislative dutiesAccording to parliamentary experts Kaul and Shakdherrsquos Practice and Procedure of Parliament an attendance register is maintained for members to sign as proof of having attended a sittingHowever the report pointed out that the absence of a signature does not necessarily prove that an MP was not present in the HouseSince 1993 signing the attendance register has been mandatory for MPs to claim daily allowances making it the only official record available to assess attendanceBudget Session 2026 31 sittings nearly three months of proceedingsThe Budget Session was held from January 28 to April 18 2026 with 31 sittings in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya SabhaA recess was observed from February 14 to March 8 followed by three special sittings on legislation related to delimitationLok Sabha attendance Majority attended regularly but gaps remainOf the 543 Lok Sabha seats three were vacant due to resignation and death Ministers the Speaker and the Leader of Opposition were excluded from the attendance analysis as they did not sign the registerThe study examined the attendance records of 483 MPsKey findings309 MPs 6398 attended at least 75 of the sittings69 MPs attended fewer than half of the sittingsThree MPs recorded zero attendance including one undertrial prisonerThe report observed that nearly 80 of the 483 MPs either missed one or more sittings or did not sign the register on those daysParty performance Smaller groups lead bigger parties lagThe attendance figures showed a significant contrast between smaller parties and larger political formationsTop performersMPs from the Rashtriya Lok Dal RLD and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party RLP recorded 100 attendanceCPIMLL and Zoram Peoplersquos Movement ZPM MPs averaged 30 sittingsSamajwadi Party SP MPs recorded an average attendance of 2843 sittingsLarger parties showed lower averagesBharatiya Janata Party BJP with 191 MPs recorded an average of 2646 sittings per MPIndian National Congress INC MPs averaged 2313 sittings among its 97 membersAll India Trinamool Congress AITC averaged 15 sittingsDravida Munnetra Kazhagam DMK averaged 1464 sittings placing it among the lowest performersThe report noted ldquoThe highest figures in terms of average attendance record belongs to political parties with only a handful of members in the Lok SabhardquoIt added that the BJP and Congress despite being the largest ruling and opposition parties respectively recorded considerably lower averagesStatewise attendance Uttarakhand leads Assam at the bottomThe CHRI study also analysed attendance according to the states and Union Territories represented in the Lok SabhaStates with highest average attendanceUttarakhand 305 daysDelhi 30 daysRajasthan 2975 daysStates with lowest average attendanceAssam 1569 daysWest Bengal 1603 daysTamil Nadu 1741 daysThe report highlighted that MPs from Assam West Bengal Tamil Nadu and Kerala averaged fewer than twothirds of the 31 sittingsldquoAssam figures at the bottom of the pile with an average attendance record of 1569 daysrdquo the report said adding that several eastern and southern states fell below the 20day markSmaller states and Union Territories show mixed resultsAttendance patterns among smaller states and Union Territories also varied widelyStrong performanceChandigarh and Lakshadweep MPs recorded 100 attendanceWeak performancePuducherry MPs attended fewer than half of the sittingsMeghalaya and Tripura MPs attended fewer than 20 sittings on averageCHRI avoids naming individual MPsThe report clarified that it focused on broader trends rather than individual rankingsldquoWe have deliberately avoided calling out individual MPs by name for their performance because neither praising nor naming and shaming anybody is our purposerdquo it saidThe organisation stressed that the objective was to encourage public discussion on parliamentary functioning and accountabilityAccountability debate ahead of Monsoon SessionThe findings come ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament scheduled to begin on July 20 2026The report concludes that attendance remains a crucial measure of democratic responsibility as MPsrsquo presence directly affects legislative scrutiny and representationWhile smaller parties and some states demonstrated strong participation several large parties and regions recorded lower attendance levelsldquoAttendance is not merely about signing a registermdashit is about showing up for the people who elected themrdquo the report said emphasising that citizens have a right to know how their representatives perform