Who Is Karti Chidambaram, The Man at the Centre of INX Media Case?

On 28 Feb, a Delhi court sent Karti to one-day police custody in the INX Media case after he was arrested by CBI.

Karti Chidambaram. 

(Photo: PTI)

In a 2012 interview, when asked about being a part of the ‘elite’ Page 3 social circle, Karti Chidambaram had categorically stated, "Don’t put me on Page 3 – I want to be on Page 1."

In the years since then, that wish of former finance minister P Chidambaram's 46-year-old son has turned out to be true, albeit not in a way he would have wanted. Karti has time and again found himself at the centre of probes by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

On 28 February, Delhi's Patiala House Court sent Karti to one-day police custody in the INX Media money laundering case, a piece of news that is sure to make the headlines of all national newspapers.

And it has not just been the INX media case. What has also made the front page of newspapers time and again is the Aircel-Maxis 2G telecom deal, wherein Karti was accused by Subramanian Swamy of being a beneficiary.

Notably, the INX Media case relates to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2007 for receipt of funds by INX Media, when his father and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister during the previous UPA regime.

So who exactly is Karti Chidambaram? And what else do we know about him apart from his controversial business dealings and the fact that he is the son of P Chidambaram?

The Plunge Into Politics and The Tryst With Business

Born to an illustrious family, with both his parents serving as high-profile lawyers, Karti did his schooling from the Don Bosco School in Chennai, before moving on to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from the University of Texas. He then studied law at Cambridge University.

Karti is married to Srinidi Chidambaram, a famous Bharatanatyam dancer and doctor.

Karti's plunge into politics came right after he moved back to India in the late 1990s. In 1996, the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) came into existence as a fallout of the Congress allying with the AIADMK.

P Chidambaram was a part of the new party, which was founded by erstwhile Congressman GK Moopanar. However, the former eventually broke away from TMC and formed his own party – the Congress Democratic Front – in 2001, which subsequently merged with the Congress. In the meantime, Karti served as his father's election manager, looking after his constituency Sivaganga.

Though he has been serving as a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), what is better known about Karti today are his business interests, owing to a series of media reports in 2015-16 exposing his ownership of a wide-ranging international network of companies, the controversy they created, and the subsequent probes by the investigative agencies.

But ironically, prior to 2015-2016, his businesses were seen to be “low-key affairs” with even Karti’s acquaintances reportedly not knowing the “full extent of his business interests”.

Karti has reportedly been linked to a range of companies in areas such as legal consulting, investment advisory, hospitality and healthcare. The notable ones include Advantage Strategic Consulting, Ausbridge Holdings, Halidon Marketing, Kaiser Luxury Hotels, reports Moneycontrol.

Among these, Advantage Strategic Consulting and Ausbridge Holdings have been under the scanner in the probe regarding the Aircel-Maxis deal. And in the INX Media case, it is alleged that Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) received kickbacks, though Karti Chidambaram has denied any role in the company’s affairs.

A Politician in the Shadow of His Father

Unlike his father, who has served as the Finance Minister multiple times and as the Home Minister, Karti's political fortunes have neither been successful nor very well-known.

The junior Chidambaram did contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from his father’s constituency Sivaganga, but suffered a convincing defeat, securing the fourth position far behind the winning candidate PR Senthilnathan of the AIADMK.

His political trajectory has been brought out in contrast to the success of his contemporaries like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot, who also belong to well-known political families.

However, in the past, Karti has taken offence to the labels of being a "political non-entity", one who is inactive and unsuccessful in politics.

In the 2012 interview with The Telegraph, he had said:

I am very active in state party politics. You cannot believe the English press, which is disconnected from rural India... I help my father substantially in managing his constituency, Sivaganga, but I also travel extensively. I speak at Congress party meetings, campaign and articulate the party stand on issues. I’ve also been active in the enrolment drive of the Youth Congress...

Karti Chidambaram in 2012

In that interview, Karti had also reiterated his interest in politics since childhood, narrating how he started reading newspapers from the time he was in Class III and how he had decided he wanted a career in politics at the age of 14.

A Tennis Enthusiast

Apart from his business interests, Karti has also claimed to be a great lover of tennis. He has served as the Vice President of All India Tennis Association (AITA) and currently serves as the Vice President of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association.

He has also held posts in the Tenpin Bowling Federation of India as well as the All India Karate-Do Federation.

However, as far his political career is concerned, it seems that it never really took off. And the CBI action on Wednesday seems only to have further dented his already beleaguered prospects.

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