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Kochi: For decades, Santiago Martin, known colloquially as the “Lottery King,” operated in the shadows of Indian politics – a figure whose influence was measured in currency rather than soundbites. Disclosures pertaining to electoral bonds mandated by the Supreme Court revealed that Santiago Martin’s firm, Future Gaming and Hotel Services, purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore between 2019 and 2024. 

While the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was a primary beneficiary, receiving Rs 509 crore (roughly 37% of the total), and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) receiving Rs 542 crore, the firm’s contributions cut across party lines, with the BJP receiving Rs 100 crore nationally and another Rs 100 crore channeled through the Prudent Electoral Trust.

However, the political landscape of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry is witnessing a shift. The man whose firm, Future Gaming and Hotel Services, emerged as India’s single largest electoral bond donor, is no longer merely funding the players. Some of his closest family members are now directly in the fray.

With his son, Jose Charles Martin, in Puducherry, and his son-in-law, Aadhav Arjuna, in Tamil Nadu, the Martin family has launched a twin-pronged gambit on the region’s traditional power structures. This transition from backroom financier to front-line challenger introduces a volatile new variable into the 2026 election cycle, threatening to influence the delicate arithmetic of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Puducherry for a start.

Son building a launchpad in Puducherry

The formation of the Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK) by Martin’s son marks the conversion of the family’s financial clout into direct political equity. This transition was prefaced by a strategic deployment of ‘philanthropic capital’ through the Martin Foundation in late 2024. The distribution of flood relief........

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