The three-time Member of Parliament (MP) from the Chennai Central constituency, Dayanidhi Maran, a prominent member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party is contesting for the Lok Sabha seat for the fourth time.
Dayanidhi Maran is the son of former Union Minister Murasoli Maran and the grandnephew of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi. He stepped into Lok Sabha for the first time in 2004, after winning from the Chennai Central constituency.
Subsequently, he was re-elected from the same constituency in the 2009 general elections and the 2019 general elections. In 2004, after his first victory in the elections, Maran went on to become the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, at the age of 38. During his tenure, he introduced the ‘One Rupee One India’ plan across the country, which enabled calls across the country at a rate of ₹ 1 per minute.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he contested again from the Chennai Central constituency and won by a margin of 33,454 votes with a vote share of 46.82% of the total votes polled, by defeating the AIADMK candidate SMK Mohamed Ali Jinnah. For the third time, Maran won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Chennai Central parliamentary constituency securing 4,48,911 votes by defeating his nearest rival with a record-breaking victory margin of 3,01,520 votes.
Read more: Lok Sabha 2024: Know your MP — Dr Kalanidhi Veerasamy, Chennai North
Dayanidhi Maran: Personal information
| Name | Dayanidhi Maran |
| Age | 57 |
| Place of Birth | Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| Political party | DMK |
| Education | Graduate (B.A. Economics) |
| Profession | Politician, business person |
| Father’s name | Murasoli Maran |
| Mother’s name | Mallika Maran |
| Spouse’s name | Priya Dayanidhi Maran |
| Children | 2 |
| Name enrolled as voter in | Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency |
| Present address | 3, First Avenue, Boat Club Road, R A Puram, Chennai – 600 028, Tamil Nadu |
| Contact number | 09840022728/ 044-24371515 |
| dmaranoffice@gmail.com |
Online presence:
- Website: www.dmaran.in
- Facebook: dayanidhi.maran.official
- Instagram: instagram.com/dayanidhimaranmp
- Twitter: @Dayanidhi_Maran
Criminal cases:
Dayanidhi Maran’s tenure has been clouded by corruption allegations related to spectrum allocation during his time as Telecom Minister. Maran has one criminal case pending against him.
IPC Section 120B(1), 409, 467, 471, 477A
FIR No RC/DST/2013/A/0019, CBI/STF/DLI, Sr. Supdt. of Police, CBI/STF, New Delhi, CC No 12/2017, XIV Additional Special Judge for CBI Cases, Chennai-104, Sec 13(2),13(1)C, 13(1)d of P.C Act 1988.
1 charge related to Criminal breach of trust by a public servant, or by banker, merchant, or agent (IPC Section-409).
1 charges related to Forgery of valuable security, will, etc. (IPC Section-467).
1 charge related to the Falsification of accounts (IPC Section-477A).
1 charges related to using as genuine a forged document or electronic record
(IPC Section-471).
Source: MyNeta.info
Assets and Liabilities
| Details | Holdings in 2019 | Holdings in 2024 |
| Movable assets | Rs 11.67 cr | Rs 12.52 cr |
| Immovable assets | Rs 59,000 | Rs 4.53 cr |
| Total Assets (Movable + Immovable) | Rs 11.68 cr | Rs 17.07 cr* |
| Liabilities | Nil | Nil |
Positions held
In the 17th Lok Sabha:
- Member of Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 (From Aug 2021),
- Member, Committee on Estimates (2019 to 2023)
[Source: https://sansad.in/ls]
Performance in Parliament
Dayanidhi Maran has a decent attendance of about 77% in Parliament. He had participated in 20 debates and raised nearly 136 questions in the Lok Sabha.
| MP | Attendance | No. of debates participated | No. of questions asked | Private Member’s Bill |
| Dayanidhi Maran | 77 % | 20 | 136 | Nil |
| National average | 79 % | 46.7 | 210 | 1.5 |
| State (TN) average | 74 % | 52.9 | 255 | 1.5 |
Dayanidhi Maran participated in 20 debates, which included topics such as:
- General Discussion on the Interim Budget-2024-25
- The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Ordinance, 2023
- Supplementary Demands for Grants First Batch for 2022-2023 and demands for Excess Grants 2019-2020 Budget (General)
- The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022
- The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021
- The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021
- Discussion on COVID-19 situation in the country LS – Short Duration Discussions (Rule-193)
- The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019
- The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 and The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019
- The National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill, 2019.
Read more: Meet Dayanidhi Maran, MP-elect from Chennai Central
He asked as many as 136 questions in Parliament. Some of these include:
- Progress under JJM
- MoU between India and EU
- Collaboration with Indian Army
- Investigations in Corporate Governance
- AIIMS, Madurai
- Shortage of Beds in Hospitals
- Better Management of Gas Cylinders
- Track Expansion
- Sports Infrastructure in Tamil Nadu
- Development Projects in Foreign Countries
- Poshan Tracker App
- Separate Division for Micro-Enterprises
- MDA Scheme
- Market Development Assistance Scheme
- PLI Schemes for Food Processing
- Measures for Filling up of Judges Post
- Functioning of NURPA
- Textiles Manufacturing Hub
- Workshop on PRIs and Community based Organisations
- New Regulatory Regime for Start-ups
Source: PRSIndia
Among the questions raised by Dayanidhi Maran in Parliament, he had sought details of the progress made under the Jal Jeevan Mission since its inception in 2019. He also asked about the specific challenges faced by the Ministry of Jal Shakthi in achieving the goal of providing safe drinking water connections to all rural households by 2024.
He has also enquired with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare about the construction of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Mr Maran has also sought details from the Government about enhancing sports infrastructure in Tamil Nadu.
The full list of the questions the MP asked and the position he took in debates, is available here.
MPLADS spending of Chennai Central
| Total entitlement | Rs 17 crore |
| Amount recommended by MP | Rs 20.51 crore |
| Amount sanctioned | Rs 16.77 crore |
| Expenditure incurred | Rs 8.52 crore |
| Unspent balance | Rs 0.1786 crore |
| Utilisation percentage of amount released | 121.845% |
Dayanidhi Maran in the news
Dayanidhi Maran has a flair for writing. He has contributed several editorials to Kungumam – a Tamil weekly; and has been associated with print media and information technology for the last 13 years.
During his tenure as IT and Telecommunication Minister, the call rates of mobiles and landlines were drastically reduced which in-turn influenced the growth of subscriptions.
The incumbent MP from Chennai Central constituency has often courted controversy with his remarks over the last five years. In December last year, an old video of the MP surfaced, where he was seen making derogatory remarks about Hindi-speaking people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This episode created a political furore, with BJP leaders condemning his words.
Also read:
- Lok Sabha 2024: Know your MP — Poonam Mahajan, Mumbai North Central
- Chennai Central: Voters voice various concerns in constituency of high-profile contestants