Chennai | The Martin group, headed by "lottery baron" Santiago Martin, has secured a significant political foothold in the 2026 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Three members of the family successfully contested on different party tickets, marking a rare cross-party sweep for a single family.
Representing the AIADMK, Martin's wife, Leemarose, won a closely contested race in the Lalgudi assembly constituency in Tiruchi district, while his son Jose Charles Martin, who contested under the LJK banner in Kamaraj Nagar constituency in Puducherry, secured a comfortable victory.
Santiago Martin's son-in-law, Aadhav Arjuna, who ran on a ticket for Vijay's TVK, won from the Villivakkam assembly constituency in Chennai.
According to Election Commission data, Leemarose Martin defeated her nearest rival and TVK candidate KU PA Krishnan by a margin of 2,739 votes in the Lalgudi seat.
Jose Charles Martin defeated Congress candidate P K Devadoss by a margin of 10,205 votes.
Similarly, Aadhav Arjuna also defeated DMK candidate Karthik Mohan by a margin of 17,302 votes.
Chennai | AIADMK MLA-elect Leemarose Martin on Tuesday claimed that the party's general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami was in talks to provide support to TVK led by actor-turned politician Vijay to form a stable government.
The talks are going between the two leaders, she further claimed, while speaking to reporters at Lalgudi.
Leemarose is the wife of "lottery baron" Santiago Martin and won a closely contested race in the Lalgudi assembly constituency in Tiruchi district. Her son-in-law, Aadhav Arjuna, representing TVK, won from the Villivakkam assembly constituency in Chennai.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, launched in 2024, performed impressively securing 108 seats out of 234 Assembly constituencies in the state, in its maiden electoral debut. However, the TVK requires the support of an additional 12 members to demonstrate its majority. The party is in talks with many parties in the state, including the Congress.