CHENNAI: Three members of the family of controversial lottery baron Santiago Martin, a major political donor through electoral bonds, including over Rs 500 crore to the DMK, have made a clean sweep in the Assembly elections even as they contested from different parties.
The lottery baron’s wife Leema Rose Martin contested from Lalgudi on an AIADMK ticket, his son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna, contested from Villivakkam representing the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and his son Jose Charles Martin fought from Kamaraj Nagar in Puducherry on behalf of his own party (Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi), which is allied with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). All three of them registered victories in the elections.
Leema won from Lalgudi, a constituency long considered a stronghold fo the DMK party. She defeated TVK’s Ku Pa Krishnan by 2,739 votes, with DMK’s A Parivallal pushed to third place.
The DMK had won the seat in the 2021, 2016, 2011 and 2006 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Aadhav, who is said to have an estranged relationship with sections of the family, with his wife distancing herself from the political decision, won from Villivakkam, another DMK stronghold. He defeated the DMK’s Karthik Mohan by a margin of 17,302 votes. The DMK had bagged the seat in the last two elections.
In Puducherry, Jose Charles Martin won the Kamaraj Nagar seat by a margin of 10,205 votes against Congress candidate P K Devadoss.
The three candidates were also among the wealthiest in the fray. Leema was the richest candidate in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, declaring assets worth Rs 1,041 crore. Jose Charles Martin topped the list in Puducherry with Rs 597 crore, while Aadhav Arjuna declared assets worth Rs 442 crore.