His wife, Leema Rose, is set to enter the Tamil Nadu assembly from Lalgudi on an AIADMK ticket. She was officially the state’s richest candidate, with assets worth Rs 5,863 crore. She joined the ADMK on February 17, was appointed deputy secretary of its women’s wing and secured a ticket soon after. Prior to that, she was with the Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi.
Martin’s son, Jose Charles Martin, won from Kamaraj Nagar in Puducherry. He contested as part of the NDA months after launching his own party, Lakshiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK). As per his affidavit, he owns assets worth around Rs 609 crore and has liabilities of about Rs 210 crore.
Martin’s estranged son-in-law, Aadhav Arjuna, is the new MLA from Villivakkam in Tamil Nadu. He is seen as one of TVK chief Joseph Vijay’s trusted aides and has declared assets worth Rs 534 crore.
“Martin’s success through his family members in this election could set a precedent,” political analyst R Mani told ET. “We could start seeing more business families looking at fielding their family members in different parties to secure their interests. This seems like a natural progression from backroom financing to having a stake in party functioning. It also underscores the increasing role that corporates are playing in politics.”
Through his company, Future Gaming and Hotel Services, Martin donated Rs 1,368 crore to political parties via electoral bonds, the highest in the country between 2018 and 2024, before the Supreme Court abolished the scheme. About Rs 540 crore went to Trinamool Congress, around Rs 500 crore to DMK, and `100 crore to BJP. He also gave crores to the Congress and the YSRCP.
The election results place key members of the Martin family in legislatures in both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Aadhav Arjuna’s senior role in the TVK has also led to expectations that he may secure a ministerial berth.Families having their members in multiple parties was a very common practice in the South, political analyst Sumanth C Raman said.
“It was openly acknowledged that industrial families would have one brother in the AIADMK and another in the DMK just so that regardless of who was in power, the family’s interests would be protected,” he said. “Leema Rose Martin had no connection with the AIADMK until a few weeks before the election. So, the diversification of political interests is to safeguard the business.”
In the lead up to the elections, both Leema Rose and Charles were attacked for their association with Santiago Martin. DMK leader Udayanidhi Stalin said during a roadshow that the aim of the family was to revive their business in Tamil Nadu where the sale of lottery tickets was banned in 2003.
Charles was lambasted by the opposition party in Puducherry. Congress leader Dolly Sharma criticised the LJK founder accusing him of intending to defraud the entire union territory through lottery schemes.
