(L-R): Leena Rose Martin, Aadhav Arjuna and Jose Charles Martin | Photo credit: The Hindu
Story so far: The wife, son and son-in-law of ‘Lottery King’ Santiago Martin created history on May 4, 2026 after she was elected by three different parties in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Assembly elections. Winning from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Lalgudi constituency, Leena Rose Martin will join her son-in-law Aadhav Arjun who won from the Villivakam seat on a Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) ticket as MLA in the next Tamil Nadu Assembly. Her son, Jose Charles Martin, who formed his own party in Puducherry – Latchiya Jananayaka Katchi – won from the Kamarajar Nagar seat and is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The Martins are one of the few cases in Tamil Nadu where members of the same family belong to different parties. While the state’s most powerful political family — the Karunanidhi family is together in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (except for K. Alagiri, who was expelled from the party), the state has three other political families whose members are in different parties.
Published – 08 May 2026 19:29 IST
