Venkatesh Babu, Chennai North: A strong voice in House, but fails to act on unemployment

A quick handy reference for voters of Chennai North to help them assess the performance of their MP T G Venkatesh Babu over his 2014-19 tenure.

T G Venkatesh Babu of the AIADMK was elected from Chennai North constituency as a first time MP in 2014.  In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Venkatesh Babu defeated Giri Rajan (DMK) by 99,704 votes. The constituency, with 1422392 voters, had 64.01% voter turnout in the 2014 elections, of which Venkatesh attained 44.06% votes.

 T G Venkatesh Babu had risen through the ranks in the AIADMK party to secure a seat in the 16th Lok Sabha. A real estate businessman, he was the first AIADMK representative elected from the Chennai North constituency, which had been a DMK bastion through the history of the Lok Sabha elections. He attributed his victory to the schemes implemented by the late AIADMK leader, J Jayalalitha.

However, T G Venkatesh Babu will not be seeking re-election from the constituency, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, as the party decided to let the alliance partner DMDK contest the seat.

Personal Information

Name: T G Venkatesh Babu

Age:     58 years

Constituency: Chennai North

Address: D.No:12/19,Shanmugarayan Street, Purasaiwalkam,Chennai-600 007

Name enrolled as voter in: Chennai Central (Tamil Nadu) constituency , at Serial no 729 in Part no 7

Party: AIADMK

Term: 2014 – 2019

Email: venkatesh.tg@sansad.nic.in

Contact Number: 09840035848

Profession: Businessman

Educational qualifications: M. Sc

No. of Criminal Cases: None

Assets & Liabilities (2014)

Movable assets 88,38,275
Immovable assets 2,82,00,000
Total 3,70,38,275
Liabilities 8,04,032

Source: myneta.info (All figures in INR)

Positions held

  • Member, Standing Committee on Finance
  • Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs
  • Member, Joint Committee on Offices of Profit
  • Member, Press Council of India

Source: Lok Sabha

MP Performance

T G Venkatesh Babu has had an above average performance in terms of attendance and questions raised in parliament. He attained 100 percent attendance in seven monsoon and budget sessions during his five-year-tenure. His overall attendance during the tenure stands at 81 percent, which is slightly above the national average of 80 percent and well above the state average of 78 percent.

MP Attendance No of Debates No of questions asked Private Member’s Bill
T G Venkatesh Babu 81% 65 712 0
National average 80% 67.1 293 2.3
State (TN) average 78% 46.6 453 0

T G Venkatesh Babu has participated in debates pertaining to various issues that concern the interest of the state and his constituency in the in Parliament.

A few key debates that he has spoken on are listed below:

For the complete list of questions and debates participated in, click here.

Venkatesh Babu did not introduce any private member bill during his tenure as an MP.

Source: PRS Legislative Research

MP in news

T G Venkatesh Babu was one of the members of the Standing Committee on Finance that drafted the report on the impact of the demonetisation exercised carried out by the central government. The panel’s report has been stalled due to various reasons even as the members of the opposition including Venkatesh Babu sought for its release as the report had been critical of the ruling party’s unilateral decision on demonetisation.

Within the constituency, the MP has come under the scanner for the lack of improvement in infrastructure and the increasing issue of unemployment in North Chennai.

MPLAD funds 

Out of 25 crores allocated to Chennai North constituency, T G Venkatesh Babu has completed two works which cost Rs  12,16,600. He has recommended 271 works worth 36 crores that is yet to be processed by various government departments.

Recommended amount 36,18,36,500
Sanctioned amount 39,20,000
Utilised amount 12,16,600

Most of the local works sanctioned relate to

  • Construction of flood control embankments
  • Provision of school infrastructure and supplies

Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, GOI

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