Kolkata-based lottery firm Tiger Associates donated Rs 260 crore to Tamil Nadu's two principal political rivals, the DMK and the AIADMK, in 2025-26, more than double its contributions in the previous financial year, according to disclosures submitted to the Election Commission.
Tiger Associates is linked to lottery magnate Santiago Martin through a common business associate. Its designated partner, Subbayan Nagarajan, is a long-time associate of Martin. Corporate records show that the two are also partners in another firm.
Martin's company, Future Gaming and Hotel Services, was the largest purchaser of electoral bonds before the Supreme Court struck down the scheme in February 2024. Electoral bond disclosures later made public showed that Future Gaming had contributed Rs 509 crore to the DMK through the now-scrapped funding system.
The firm accounted for nearly 74 per cent of the Rs 352.55 crore in combined contributions reported by the two parties for 2025-26, showing that a large share of their political funding came from a single donor, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
Tiger Associates, which contributed Rs 110 crore to the two parties in 2024-25, gave Rs 135 crore to the AIADMK and Rs 125 crore to the DMK in 2025-26. Its combined contributions to the parties over the two financial years stood at Rs 370 crore.
The AIADMK's contribution report showed that Tiger Associates made six transfers totalling Rs 135 crore during the financial year. The firm accounted for nearly 84 per cent of the party's total contributions of Rs 161.36 crore.
The DMK recorded 14 contributions totalling Rs 125 crore from Tiger Associates. These represented more than 65 per cent of the party's total contributions of Rs 191.19 crore.
Tiger Associates and Martin's Future Gaming are separate entities. The available disclosures do not establish that Martin personally financed Tiger Associates' political contributions.
The latest filings also showed that electoral trusts contributed to both the DMK and the AIADMK during the same financial year. Triumph Electoral Trust gave Rs 15 crore to the DMK and Rs 5 crore to the AIADMK, while Jaybharath Electoral Trust contributed Rs 4 crore and Rs 3 crore, respectively.
Prudent Electoral Trust separately contributed Rs 25 crore to the DMK. The three trusts together gave Rs 52 crore to the two parties.
Tiger Associates and the three electoral trusts collectively accounted for Rs 312 crore, or about 88.5 per cent of the combined contributions reported by the DMK and the AIADMK.
The DMK's overall reported contributions declined from Rs 365.82 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 191.19 crore in 2025-26, even as Tiger Associates increased its donations to the party from Rs 50 crore to Rs 125 crore. The party's disclosure for 2024-25 had recorded more than Rs 300 crore in cash contributions, mainly under its Party Development Fund.
Several substantial contributions were made to the two parties in February and March, ahead of the Tamil Nadu elections in which the DMK lost power to the TVK, founded by actor-politician Vijay.
Overall, Tiger Associates emerged as the largest contributor to the DMK and the AIADMK in 2025-26, providing Rs 260 crore of their combined reported contributions of Rs 352.55 crore.
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