Tamil Nadu elections: Leema Rose, 'lottery king’s' wife, richest in fray with Rs 1,000cr assets

NEW DELHI: Leema Rose, wife of “Lottery King” Santiago Martin, filed her nomination from the Lalgudi constituency as an AIADMK candidate on Monday, ANI reported. With declared assets exceeding Rs 1,049 crore, she is the richest candidate in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2026.According to her election affidavit, Leema Rose reported an income of Rs 9.82 crore for 2024-25. Her husband Santiago Martin declared an income of Rs 11.39 crore, while their son Jose Daison Martin reported Rs 19.56 crore, ANI said. The affidavit shows that Leema Rose owns movable assets worth Rs 139.62 crore and immovable assets valued at Rs 909.94 crore. Santiago Martin’s movable and immovable assets stand at Rs 3,262.01 crore and Rs 887.36 crore respectively, while Jose Daison Martin has movable assets of Rs 225.56 crore and immovable assets of Rs 439.21 crore, according to ANI.Her nomination comes amid an intense political campaign in Tamil Nadu ahead of polling scheduled for April 23, with results set to be announced on May 4, ANI reported.The main contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which includes Congress, DMDK and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is set to make his electoral debut with TVK, potentially turning the election into a three-way contest, ANI added.On Sunday, union minister and BJP Tamil Nadu election in-charge Piyush Goyal expressed confidence that the NDA will form the next government in the state."A superb campaign has started. Tomorrow, all our candidates will be filing nominations and there is a lot of enthusiasm on the ground," Goyal said. "We will certainly defeat anti-Tamil Nadu, anti-India forces of DMK and Congress and NDA will emerge victorious, forming the next government in Tamil Nadu and serving the people with welfare and development."