TRICHY: AIADMK candidate Leema Rose Martin, wife of lottery baron Santiago Martin, contesting in Lalgudi assembly constituency in Trichy district has declared her total assets worth Rs 1,049.5 crores in the poll nomination papers. She is the richest candidate in Tamil Nadu election, outnumbering all chief minister candidates in the state. The 58-year-old female candidate with a pass in class VI as the education qualification from a govt higher secondary school at Thiruvadanai near Ramanathapuram district has declared her income for the financial year 2024-25 at Rs 9.8 crores.
Her husband Santiago Martin’s annual income during the corresponding period was Rs 11.3 crores, he is known for his donations to many political parties in the country. The affluent couple’s son, Jose Daison Martin’s annual income was pegged at Rs 19.5 crores.Leema, a resident of GN mills in Coimbatore, has declared her movable assets at Rs 139.6 crores while her spouse Martin’s were valued at Rs 3,262 crores. The AIADMK candidate’s immovable assets were valued in the 159 page poll affidavit at Rs 909.9 crores, and her husband Martin’s at Rs 887.3 crores.Leema Rose has invested her shares in a wide range of sectors including real estate, merchandise, gaming, and hotel services. In a striking similarity with TVK leader and actor-politician Vijay contesting the TN assembly election, AIADMK’s Leema and her spouse have three TVS XL mopeds. Leema under her name has only three cars, Hyundai Creta, Mahindra Thar, and Maruti Dzire. Her husband has a Lexus LX 570, BMW 530D, and a 1991 registered Maruti car. Their son Jose Daison Martin has three Royal Enfield bikes. Immovable assets of Leema Rose are in Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Tiruppur, and Sivaganga districts. The candidate owns agricultural lands in Singhola village, about 40 km north of New Delhi and Nedumbassery in Kerala’s Ernakulam. She has four pending criminal cases filed against her.
