• Vast division of Sinhala majority vote base gives prominence to minority votes at Presidential Election
• Proxies enable RW, Sajith to bring more supporters for nominations; RW campaigners also in the room
• RW’s ‘heart’ symbol replaced by ‘gas cylinder’ given by Wajira; EC says no to ‘heart’; generic, says RW
• Campaigns start; Sajith in Kurunegala, RW in Anuradhapura, AKD in Southern Province, Dilith in Jaffna
• Namal to also start in Anuradhapura; venue shifted to Kada Panaha as Salgado Ground booked till 23rd
• Parties that formed SLPP alliance in 2019 join RW; Dhammika comes out, no politics for DP Education
• Rajapaksa family stands united when Namal signs nominations; Basil starts plan to get defectors back
• D.V. gets Premalal back; other pro-Namal groups work on grassroot-level SLPPers to return to SLPP fold
• SLFP’s winning alliance PA returns; new PA led by Anura Yapa with Lasantha, Duminda, Nalin, Chamara
• Other SLPP defectors to launch party, selection from 3 parties; Ramesh nominated as General Secretary
• RW’s Puluwan Sri Lanka alliance launched with 34 parties; nationalist NFF members also join alliance
• Clashes between SLPP-UNP organisers over calling the shots; RW asks UNPers to be proactive, work
• RW informs Management Comm. to appoint temporary head; Ruwan to take charge in RW’s absence
• RW loses SLMC, ACMC, TPA support; Athaullah, MPs from SLMC, ACMC, TPA join RW, sign agreements
• Rishad holds series of meetings with ACMC members in east prior to decision; informs RW of decision
• Patali returns to SJB fold after discussions; Shiral resigns from party, will continue as Patali well-wisher
• Patali informs RW of re-joining SJB to defeat NPP/JVP; disinformation campaign starts against Patali
• AKD regaining ground, moving up again in perception surveys; intel units note AKD’s popularity surge
• Maithripala’s attempt to support Sajith thwarted by SJB Catholic Committee; Sajith reminded of pledge
• SJB issues statement denying accepting Maithripala support; Maithripala says staying independent
• Wijeyadasa walks into Maithripala meet with supporters; points out Maithripala’s failure to support him
• Namal meets TNA to reconcile differences between Rajapaksas and TNA; agrees to continue with talks

That politics makes strange bedfellows was further consolidated in Sri Lanka during the past week, with the many political pole-vaultings of members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and alliances affiliated to them to the camps of the key contenders at the Presidential Election. There were also a few instances where pole-vaulters returned to their former parties.

There’s no doubt that the political jumps that continued through last week and continue to take place in Sri Lankan politics would even put frogs to shame.

Amidst the defections and pledges of allegiances, two key political alliances have now been formed – the SJB-led Samagi Jana Sandhanaya (SJS) and the pro-President Ranil Wickremesinghe Puluwan Sri Lanka.

The main theme of the Presidential Election campaign for all key contenders this time is ‘crisis’.

Be that as it may, the battle lines have been drawn, with the official campaigning for the Presidential Election kickstarting after last Thursday’s (15) nominations.

This time around, the acceptance of nominations by the Election Commission (EC) last week made way for many interesting political anecdotes, which started with the large number of candidates who had paid the deposit to contest the polls resulting in the fielding of a large number of dummy candidates. While the fielding of dummy candidates by the key candidates at Presidential Elections is nothing new to local politics, it is the first time so many dummy candidates have entered the fray.

The first use of fielding dummy candidates was witnessed on nominations day with the large number of pro-Wickremesinghe supporters and supporters of Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa in the room where nominations were being accepted at the Elections Office. Each political party candidate is permitted to be accompanied by the party secretary and a senior lawyer representing him/her. For independent candidates, they could be accompanied by a lawyer and one other. 

However, video footage or photographs during nominations showed both Wickremesinghe and Premadasa being accompanied by supporters above the stipulated number.

‘The Black Box’ learns that both Wickremesinghe and Premadasa supporters had used the allocations of the dummy candidates to enter into the nominations room. It is also learnt that while Wickremesinghe was accompanied by his lawyer and brother Channa Wickremesinghe, the rest of his supporters who were in the room had entered using the allocations of their dummy candidates. A ministerial daughter, who is playing a key role in the Wickremesinghe campaign, was also among those in the nominations room. 

The same had applied to Premadasa. It is interesting that out of the key candidates at the polls, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa were accompanied by their respective party secretaries and lawyers. 

It is this reason that resulted in the National Democratic Front’s presidential candidate Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe criticising the EC for failing to maintain discipline during the process of handing over nomination papers. “Previously, the EC maintained discipline similar to that of a court, with seriousness and respect upheld. This time, however, it resembled a ‘kopi kade’ in the village where various gangs had formed,” Rajapakshe said.

“There were dummy candidates solely to promote one candidate,” Rajapakshe further charged, adding: “There were at least 15 to 20 such people for one candidate. They behaved like thugs in gangs.”

The other advantages of dummy candidates is in terms of securing space in the media during the election period for promotions and to expand access to polling booths and counting centres on the day of the election and during the counting period.

Meanwhile, of the two main candidates, Wickremesinghe submitted his nomination papers at 9.52 a.m. while Premadasa’s nominations were accepted at 9.54 a.m. There seemed to be quite a competition between Premadasa and Wickremesinghe to submit their nomination papers, with Premadasa at one point even going behind the head table to speak to the commissioner who was handling his nomination papers. 

Talking points

However, one of the main talking points that emerged on nominations day was the handshake and interaction between AKD and Namal after submitting nominations and Premadasa snubbing President Wickremesinghe’s attempt to wish him for the election campaign.

The images of the brief AKD-Namal chat and Premadasa avoiding shaking hands with Wickremesinghe went viral on social media platforms. Apart from criticisms, analyses have also been written based on these two pictures.

Nevertheless, Premadasa’s conduct has received wide condemnation thus far from the urban middle class as it is a basic courtesy to wish your opponent at elections since it is a case of battling over policies and not personal or physical.

RW’s gas cylinder

Soon after the nomination period concluded, everyone’s attention turned to the electoral symbols that would be allocated to independent candidates, especially President Wickremesinghe since he is contesting as an independent candidate.

However, after the nomination period, Wickremesinghe and his team made their way towards the exit. One of the dummy candidates on the Wickremesinghe side, Siripala Amarasinghe had walked up to the President and asked why he was leaving without getting to know his symbol. “The symbol doesn’t matter to me. I can work with anything,” Wickremesinghe had responded.

At that moment, United National Party (UNP) Chairman Wajira Abeywardena had made his way towards the President with a piece of paper. Abeywardena had handed the piece of paper to Wickremesinghe. When the President had unfolded the paper, he had seen the ‘gas cylinder’ symbol. 

While Wickremesinghe had walked out of the room where nominations were accepted, several individuals who had witnessed this scenario had told themselves that it seemed like Abeywardena had done a number to get Wickremesinghe’s symbol.

The fact that Wickremesinghe’s camp may have had an idea about the symbol was evident when a few minutes after Wickremesinghe was informed of the ‘gas cylinder’ symbol, the M2M campaign office released a post under the ‘Puluwan Sri Lanka’ tagline with Wickremesinghe’s image and the logo. 

Losing the heart

There has been much focus on President Wickremesinghe’s symbol as an independent candidate. The Wickremesinghe camp had worked to get the ‘heart’ symbol for him, with the media campaigners also making the necessary advertising material using the ‘heart’ symbol several weeks ago. The ‘heart’ symbol had been proposed by the youngest son of a leading political family in the country, it is learnt.

However, while the EC had initially been prepared to include the ‘heart’ symbol in the gazette announcing the symbols, a key official at the Elections Office had expressed concerns about permitting the symbol to be used during elections, according to reports. This official had reportedly explained that there had been requests made during previous elections to use the ‘heart’ symbol, but that the Elections Office had turned them down since it could also lead to legal implications.

The EC had finally decided to not include the ‘heart’ among the symbols. Out of the symbols finally gazetted by the commission, 28 symbols were related to animals and around 17 related to food items, with the rest being miscellaneous items. 

It is also learnt that Wickremesinghe had also expressed concerns over the ‘heart’ symbol to his campaign heads, saying it was quite generic and that his symbol should be a unique one that could capture the attention of the people.

Focus on Anuradhapura

However, with the conclusion of nominations heralding the official start of the Presidential Election campaign period, all focus immediately shifted to the first rallies of the main contenders.

Opposition and SJB Leader Premadasa held his inaugural campaign rally on Friday (16) in Kurunegala.

JVP/NPP candidate AKD launched his campaign in the Southern Province, with three main rallies in Galle, Matara, and Hambantota yesterday (17).

President Wickremesinghe’s first rally was held in Anuradhapura yesterday.

Dilith Jayaweera, who is contesting under the Communist Party of Sri Lanka under the ‘star’ symbol, also held his maiden campaign rally yesterday in Jaffna.

SLPP candidate Namal Rajapaksa is to also hold his first campaign rally in Anuradhapura on Wednesday (21). His father, SLPP Leader, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) also commenced his 2005 Presidential Election campaign with a rally at the Salgado Ground in Anuradhapura.

Venue trouble

Although Namal had also planned to hold his first campaign rally at the Salgado Ground in Anuradhapura, his campaign was unable to book the ground for his rally as the ground had been booked by some other person. “We usually have our rallies at the Salgado Ground. However, this time, we were informed that the ground has been booked till the 23rd (Friday),” SLPP Member of Parliament (MP) Johnston Fernando said.

Fernando inferred that the unavailability of the Salgado Ground for Namal’s rally seemed to be an act of sabotage.

Namal’s campaign then selected Kada Panaha in Anuradhapura as the venue for the maiden rally. “We don’t care if it’s Galle Face or Kada Panaha. We have chosen the best venue for the rally. After all, Maithripala Sirisena also held his maiden rally for the Presidential Election here and went on to win the election. So the ground does not matter to us,” Fernando claimed.

Last party leaves

Meanwhile, the SLPP alliance that was formed with 40 parties during the last Presidential Election in 2019 has been eroding in the past few weeks, with most of the registered political parties joining either the Wickremesinghe or the Premadasa camp.

However, 39 of the parties that had joined the SLPP-led alliance had left the fold by early last week. Some parties had left the SLPP prior to the Presidential Election fever. However, once the Presidential Election came to the fore, the likes of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister Douglas Devananda, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (Pillayan), and Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna) left the SLPP.

Last week saw the last registered political party that had aligned with the SLPP alliance deciding to leave the SLPP. The party is the Deshapremi Jana Balawegaya led by Sugath Hewapathirana, who is closely affiliated to the Rajapaksa family.

He announced last week that his party had decided to leave the SLPP alliance and on Wednesday (14) met President Wickremesinghe and extended his support to him.

No DP for campaign

After staying out of the limelight for a while, businessman-turned-politician Dhammika Perera is once again in the public domain with his DP Education programme. After moving out of the Presidential Election race, Perera has so far held several programmes of DP Education in Homagama and Kandy.

Perera, while vowing to continue with his DP Education programme, has said that he will not get the DP Education programme involved in politics.

It is learnt that Namal had at one point expected Perera’s ongoing islandwide DP Education programme to play a key role in the SLPP campaign. However, the plan has now been shelved with Perera’s stance of not involving politics with his education programme.

Basil’s plan

Nevertheless, it seems that SLPP theoretician Basil is not ready to give up on the defectors. It is learnt that he has already put in place a plan to get some of the SLPPers who had defected back to the fold.

It is also learnt that State Minister Premalal Jayasekara, also known as ‘Choka Malli,’ has been brought back to the SLPP under Basil’s plan, after he had extended support to Wickremesinghe.

Basil had received State Minister D.V. Chanaka’s support in getting Jayasekara to return to the SLPP and extend support to Namal.

However, when Jayasekara returned to the SLPP fold, SJB Kalutara District MP, former Minister Rajitha Senaratne joined President Wickemesinghe. Senaratne joined Wickremesinghe at the Seema Malakaya in Colombo after religious observances at the Gangarama Temple.

Wooing Roshan

However, it is now learnt that the SLPP, which was on the hunt for a presidential candidate after Perera decided not to contest as the SLPP candidate, after approaching Prime Minister Gunawardena to become the party’s presidential candidate, had even turned to Roshan Ranasinghe after Gunawardena had turned down the request.

Two members of the SLPP Politburo had telephoned Ranasinghe and had invited him to return to the party fold and become the SLPP’s presidential candidate.

Ranasinghe had responded by saying that he had already drafted his policy statement and would consider becoming the SLPP candidate if the party was agreeable to his policies. 

Among those policies are that the selection of the prime minister should be according to the people’s mandate, every party should announce their prime ministerial candidate so the people know whom they are voting for, and an MP should be appointed to look into each electorate. Ranasinghe had listed several policies in his policy statement and asked the SLPP seniors to check with the party if they were agreeable to it.

Prior to the call by the two Politburo members, Basil had also called Ranasinghe and asked him to return to the party fold and assume the post of national convenor, which is now vacant following Rohitha Abeygunawardena’s defection. Ranasinghe had also been informed that he would be appointed as SLPP district leader of any district of his choice. Ranasinghe had responded by saying that he was yet to decide on his political future.

However, once the SLPP announced Namal as the party’s candidate, Ranasinghe had decided to contest the election as an independent candidate and announced his decision.

The main Opposition SJB also lost one of its anticipated supporters when Ranasinghe announced his decision to contest at the Presidential Election. 

United front

Meanwhile, the Rajapaksa family put forward a united front with all members of the MR family as well as the extended family attending the religious event that was held to mark Namal’s signing of nomination papers.

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was also present at the event and gave his blessings to Namal after the pirith chanting ceremony, where Namal sat with his wife Limini and parents MR and Shiranthi.

Senior member of the Rajapaksa family Chamal Rajapaksa had also expressed his support to Namal’s campaign.

MR had also informed Namal’s campaign heads that he too would be participating in some of Namal’s key campaign meetings.

PA’s return

Meanwhile, the first political alliance that is to support President Wickremesinghe led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Nimal Siripala de Silva faction was launched at Waters Edge in Battaramulla last Wednesday.

The new alliance saw the reconstitution of the SLFP-led People’s Alliance (PA) under the ‘chair’ symbol. The new PA is being led by dissident SLPPer Anura Priyadarshana Yapa with the SLFP’s Lasantha Alagiyawanna as the General Secretary.

The SLFP’s Duminda Dissanayake and dissident SLPPer Nalin Fernando serve as the Co-National Organisers, with Chamara Sampath Dasanayake as the Treasurer of the alliance. 

The ‘chair’ is considered a victorious symbol for the SLFP since the party that was defeated at several elections finally emerged victorious after contesting as the PA under former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (CBK).

However, CBK was a notable absentee at the relaunch of the PA. CBK last week declared her independence, saying that she would not support any candidate at the Presidential Election.

While there were rumours that CBK was likely to extend support to SJB candidate Premadasa, she has told SLFP supporters in Attanagalla that she remained a patron of the SLFP and that she would not be supporting any candidate.

When asked if she would support Premadasa, CBK had said that she would not.

New party by SLPPers

Meanwhile, the SLPPers who have expressed support to Wickremesinghe are also in the process of forming their own political party given that they will not be returning to the SLPP fold while also having reservations about joining the UNP.

Although the PA reconstituted by the SLFP de Silva faction and a group of dissident SLPPers believed that the latest SLPP dissidents would join their alliance, the new dissidents have not shown any interest in doing so. 

SLPP MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage said the SLPP dissidents would establish a new political party and that arrangements were already in progress. He made this announcement during a meeting with former Local Government heads in Kandy attended by President Wickremesinghe.

Minister Prasanna Ranatunga recently informed dissident SLPPers that there were three political parties for them to choose as their new political party. Over 90 SLPP MPs have decided to back Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Election.

This new alliance, being formed by a group of SLPP dissidents, is to be launched this week with Ramesh Pathirana as its General Secretary.

Puluwan Sri Lanka

However, the formation of political alliances, at least the main ones, seems to have been concluded now with the pro-Wickremesinghe camp forming the Puluwan Sri Lanka alliance last Friday, with 34 parties joining it.

The event at Waters Edge in Battaramulla saw all political parties and defectors from other parties to the Wickremesinghe fold joining along with UNP seniors to sign the agreement. Three members from Wimal Weerawansa’s National Freedom Front (NFF) that represented the nationalist camp including Mohamed Muzammil and MP Jagath Priyankara are also in the Wickremesinghe camp.

The event also saw the official launch of Wickremesinghe’s ‘gas cylinder’ symbol.

While the colours of the new alliance are that of the National Flag, the main theme of Wickremesinghe’s campaign is based on the national crisis.

Clashes in RW camp

However, the increasing tension between the SLPP and President Wickremesinghe’s party, the UNP, is now reaching a peak, with organisers of both parties engaged in a battle to take the campaign lead in the electorates.

Even the formation of an alliance between the recently defected SLPPers, the UNP, and other factions supporting Wickremesinghe at the elections has added to the chaos, with clashes taking place over assigning electoral organisers. 

Organisers of the SLPP and UNP have so far been asked by their leaders to cooperate and work together in their respective electorates. While this co-working mechanism worked in the initial stages, there are now issues in the process, with members and supporters of both sides calling for one command point to organise the campaign work in the relevant electorate. 

UNPers are also feeling disgruntled that President Wickremesinghe is constantly surrounded by SLPPers. Even when Wickremesinghe signed his nomination papers, he was surrounded by SLPPers, with even his Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayaka being pushed to the back.

A clash had even taken place during a recent meeting of the Government’s Colombo District MPs, held under the patronage of Prime Minister Gunawardena at his office in Parliament. President’s Chief of Staff Ratnayaka had also attended this meeting.

Dissident SLPP MP Pradeep Undugoda had asked at the meeting if he could be assigned the Kaduwela electorate. However, Minister Dr. Susil Premajayantha had denied the request saying he was the Organiser for Kaduwela and that as the senior politician from the electorate, he would remain in the post. Meanwhile, MP Madhura Vithanage had refused to change his electorate saying that he would remain as the Organiser for the Kotte electorate.

This issue was at one point posed to President Wickremesinghe by a senior SLPPer when the former had spoken about the SLPP supporting his candidacy at the Presidential Election. The SLPP senior had asked how they would choose the organisers and district leaders under an alliance since both parties had their own organisers and district leaders at present.

UNP decision

The UNP meanwhile officially decided last week not to field a candidate from the party at the Presidential Election, but to support Wickremesinghe’s candidacy as an independent candidate.

This decision was arrived at during meetings of the UNP’s Management Committee and Working Committee. Party Chairman Abeywardena announced the party decision during a public event.

However, UNP organisers are yet to get on board Wickremesinghe’s campaign, which at present is dominated by SLPPers in the camp.

Many UNP organisers at the grassroots have expressed their displeasure over ‘undesirables’ of the SLPP joining the Wckremesinghe camp. Last Sunday (11) saw one of SLPP MP Johnston Fernando’s allies, former Mayor of Kurunegala Thushara Sanjeewa, who was sentenced to two years in prison for bulldozing the Council Hall of King Buwanekabahu in Kurunegala, attending one of Wickremesinghe’s meetings in Kandy. The meeting in Kandy was with former Local Government members organised by SLPPers in the Wickremesinghe camp.

It is learnt that President Wickremesinghe had responded to these issues by saying that the UNP seniors and organisers needed to become more proactive and position themselves in the Presidential Election campaign without waiting for invitations. 

“This is politics; you either make your presence felt or you are cast aside. I will work with the alliance, but you all [UNP seniors and organisers] need to mark your presence in the campaign. Don’t forget there’s a Parliamentary Election to be held as well,” Wickremesinghe had recently told a group of UNP seniors during a discussion on the UNPers’ issues.

Ruwan heads UNP

Meanwhile, President Wickremesinghe had last week informed the party’s Management Committee meeting that he would be staying out of party work during the campaign period.

He had then asked the Management Committee to nominate an individual who would lead the committee meetings in his absence. It is learnt that the President had been irritated by the silence of the committee members, asking why they could not even nominate a temporary head to the committee.

Finally, Wickremesinghe had said that UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene would head the party Management Committee in his absence and that in the event Wijewardene was unable to make it for a committee meeting, then the chair would be taken by the next senior party member. 

Minority votes

Be that as it may, it is now becoming evident that votes of the minority communities will play a key role at the upcoming election.

With the candidates who have come forward to contest, like the SJB’s Premadasa, SLPP’s Namal, and Sarvajana Balaya’s Dilith (representing the nationalist camp), as well as JVP/NPP’s AKD to an extent eyeing the majority Sinhala vote base, it is evident that the Sinhala vote base will be divided among the key contenders.

The large division in the majority vote base will result in the minority votes playing a key role in deciding the final outcome of the Presidential Election.  

It is further evident that the fielding of a common Tamil candidate at the Presidential Election will break some of the Tamil votes that would have otherwise been cast for a key contender. Nevertheless, a majority of the Tamil votes will still be up for a key candidate at the polls.

It is likely that young Tamil voters will not follow the old guard when casting their votes but look for progressive alternatives.

President Wickremesinghe’s special focus on the Northern and Eastern Provinces indicates that he is aware of the importance of minority votes, especially among the youth.

CWC gets the edge

Meanwhile, the up-country Tamil party leaders seem to be divided between Wickremesinghe and Premadasa, with the main up-country Tamil parties being divided between them.

While there will be an aggressive campaign to woo the estate sector votes, the decision of the Wages Board last Monday (19) to increase the daily wage of estate workers to Rs. 1,700 will give the pro-Wickremesinghe Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) led by the Thondamans an edge among the estate sector population.

TPA split

Meanwhile, the pro-Premadasa Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) led by Mano Ganesan saw a split last week when TPA member and SJB MP M. Velu Kumar decided to throw his weight behind President Wickremesinghe.

Velu Kumar joined Wickremesinghe on the morning of nominations right before the President left for the Elections Secretariat.

This defection from his camp may also have been a reason for SJB presidential candidate Premadasa looking quite sullen at the Elections Secretariat during nominations.

Muslim party division

However, the Wickremesinghe camp is also in need of the support of key Muslim parties in order to attract Muslim voters outside of Colombo, with the two main Muslim political parties – the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) – officially joining the SJB-led alliance.

Wickremesinghe’s camp also lacks strong Muslim parliamentarians, with outspoken MPs like S.M. Marikkar and Mujibur Rahman being in the SJB.

President Wickremesinghe so far has the support of A.L.M. Athaullah and his National Congress.

Although Wickremesinghe has not received the support of the SLMC and ACMC, MPs from both parties have defected and joined his camp. So far, SLMCers like Ali Zahir Moulana and Naseer Ahamed as well as ACMC MPs Ishak Rahuman, Ali Sabri Raheem, and S.M.M. Muszhaaraff have extended support to Wickremesinghe.

However, the announcement by the Wickremesinghe camp of the three ACMC MPs joining the President leaving only one ACMC MP – Rishad Bathiudeen – with the Premadasa camp was met with criticism by the ACMC. The party stated that the ACMC members who had joined Wickremesinghe were not members of the party’s high command and that Rahuman had been supporting the Government from the Opposition for some time.

Rishad’s meetings

Prior to announcing the ACMC’s final decision last Wednesday, Bathiudeen engaged in a series of meetings with party members and supporters in villages in the Eastern Province. The meetings were aimed at inquiring into the sentiments of the Muslim people in his constituency on the candidate the ACMC should support at the Presidential Election.

This programme was launched by Bathiudeen on 10 August after he returned from an overseas tour and was carried out until Tuesday (13). During these meetings in the Eastern Province, many party supporters and members, while stating that they would support the party decision, had emphasised that the final decision of the ACMC should not result in a division of the party and that all members should reach a common consensus.

The party’s high command met on Wednesday morning to finalise the decision. It is learnt that when the ACMC’s high command had met to make a final decision on the party’s stance at the Presidential Election, a majority of the members had voted in favour of supporting the SJB’s Premadasa.

President Wickremesinghe had also requested the ACMC’s support for him at the election in writing.

In fact, Wickremesinghe had telephoned Bathiudeen when the latter was holding meetings in the east. Bathiudeen had then explained to Wickremesinghe that he and the ACMC would have to heed the calls of party members and organisers.

Bathiudeen last week signed an agreement with Premadasa, extending the ACMC’s support to the SJB.

Maithri’s turn rejected

Meanwhile, news of Premadasa, who has already secured the support of the SLFP Dayasiri Jayasekara faction, being likely to receive the support of the SLFP’s Maithripala Sirisena faction resulted in quite a controversy within the SJB. 

Sirisena had faced many objections from the SJB camp, especially the SJB’s Catholic Committee, which had objected to any move to get Sirisena to the party fold. Committee members had also reminded Premadasa of the promise given by him to Catholics regarding justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks.

By then, there had been a discussion between Sirisena’s representatives and those of Premadasa. These talks had also looked at getting Sirisena’s son, Daham Sirisena, to join the SJB.

Hearing this development, there were reports that the SJB had informed Sirisena that the party could accept him only if the Cardinal gave the green light.

Sirisena meanwhile had held a meeting last Sunday (11) at a place on Poorwarama Road in Nugegoda with a group of his loyalists about joining the SJB.

Sirisena had earlier expressed support to former Minister Rajapakshe, who is now a candidate at the upcoming Presidential Election, and Sirisena on several occasions had tried to install Rajapakshe as the leader of the SLFP. 

Rajapakshe meanwhile claimed during a news conference last week that a majority of SLFPers were backing him at the polls.

It is learnt that Rajapakshe, upon hearing about Sirisena’s meeting in Nugegoda, had arrived at the venue and asked Sirisena about his promised support to him. Rajapakshe had pointed out that Sirisena’s supporters and organisers were working for other candidates.

Rajapakshe had further noted that party names and symbols were irrelevant for victory since SLFP leaders in the past had won under symbols other than the party’s ‘hand’ symbol.

However, the clashes within the SJB resulted in the party issuing a statement last Friday saying that Sirisena would not be accepted by the SJB.

As soon as the SJB statement was issued, Sirisena also issued a statement announcing that he would not extend support to any candidate at the Presidential Election and that he would remain independent during the polls.

Maithri abandoned

Sirisena has now become a politically abandoned figure, with none of the key political parties or candidates at the Presidential Election accepting his support. 

Following the SJB’s decision not to accept Sirisena’s support at the election, even Rajapakshe, whom Sirisena had propped for the SLFP leadership and promised the SLFP’s support at the Presidential Election, noted that it was better for Sirisena to support the SJB.

Sirisena’s decision to make overtures to the SJB and Premadasa had been prompted by the outcome of a meeting he had recently convened in Polonnaruwa with his organisers, where they had discussed whom they should support at the polls. A majority of the organisers had noted that they should all support the SJB and Premadasa while slamming Rajapakshe.

The organisers had claimed that Rajapakshe did not have a proper political strategy and was only holding news conferences where he would slam Premadasa and provide side support to President Wickremesinghe.

Some organisers had also noted that Rajapakshe had promised to get them (the Sirisena faction) the SLFP, but that they had now lost their grip on the party.

Patali returns to Sajith

However, one of the interesting developments last week was the return of United Republic Front (URF) Leader, dissident SJB MP Patali Champika Ranawaka to the SJB fold.

It is learnt that Ranawaka had also been upset by CBK’s decision to remain independent during the upcoming elections since she had pushed to get Ranawaka to form an alliance with an SLFP-led alliance during the polls.

After holding several rounds of discussions within the party and postponing the announcement of the party decision on the upcoming Presidential Election that was earlier due to be made last Sunday (11), Ranawaka finally signed an agreement with Premadasa on Wednesday (14), the day prior to nominations, at an event at the Grand Monarch in Thalawathugoda.

Interestingly, as soon as media reports stated that Ranawaka was to sign an agreement on Wednesday with Premadasa, a state minister had made calls to several news outlets saying that Ranawaka was to meet Wickremesinghe last Monday evening.

Once Ranawaka’s party made the announcement of joining the SJB, several pro-Wickremesinghe social media campaigners claimed that the URF Leader had joined the SJB after the President had declined three conditions put forward – Ranawaka’s immediate appointment as the power and energy minister, the removal of Minister Tiran Alles from his portfolio, and millions of rupees for a media campaign.

However, it was later learnt that Ranawaka’s conditions were part of a disinformation campaign. It was also learnt that the URF Leader had informed President Wickremesinghe that he was joining the SJB camp in order to prevent the possible victory of the JVP/NPP at the Presidential Election given its growing popularity. 

Shiral quits

Meanwhile, a senior member of Ranawaka’s URF, Shiral Lakthilaka, had submitted his resignation letter last week following the party’s decision to extend support to Premadasa.

Lakthilaka had continuously opposed moves by the URF to support Premadasa. In his resignation letter sent to URF General Secretary Bandula Chandrasekara, Lakthilaka had noted that his decision to resign from his positions in the URF had been made in line with his political beliefs that did not permit him to support Premadasa during the election and due to his inability to follow the party’s decision with a clear conscience. However, he had further noted that he would continue to express his best wishes to Ranawaka.

Lakthilaka has continuously been posting on his social media account stating that the JVP/NPP led by AKD is fast becoming the choice of the people. He has even gone to the extent of stating that the JVP/NPP will win 12 districts in the country at the upcoming polls.

Fonseka’s seat

Meanwhile, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka’s recent decision to resign from the SJB and contest as an independent candidate at the upcoming Presidential Election could lose him his parliamentary seat, which he secured under the SJB.

SJB MP Marikkar recently claimed that Fonseka was carrying out the bidding of President Wickremesinghe by resigning from the party and contesting at the upcoming election. He further noted that Fonseka’s latest move would only result in him losing his seat in Parliament.

AKD’s policies

Meanwhile, NPP/JVP candidate AKD seems to be regaining popularity after facing a decline in public perception surveys in the past few weeks.

AKD’s stance that the party will not accommodate any political pole-vaulters since it has caused the country’s downfall has received a positive response from the public.

However, his recovering momentum has also caught the attention of the intelligence units, which have confirmed to the Government that the JVP/NPP is once again gathering momentum at the grassroot level.

AKD also stated last week that his detractors would receive the responses they were looking for with regard to the JVP/NPP plan to revive the country when his policy statement is launched this month.

Namal meets Suma

Meanwhile, SLPP candidate Namal’s meeting with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran at the latter’s residence captured the attention of many, including that of Tamil voters.

SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam also attended the meeting on Saturday, 10 August and, according to the SLPP, Namal had sought the meeting with the TNA.

It is learnt that Namal’s first attempt at reconciling the longstanding differences between the Rajapaksas and the TNA had also been appreciated by the Tamil party. After the discussion, the TNA MP had told Namal that they should continue with the discussion.

It is interesting that while Namal met with Sumanthiran, his father, MR had met with Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha last week.

TNA-China meet

The TNA meanwhile also raised quite a few eyebrows in Colombo, when the party held talks with China on the issues faced by Tamils in the north and east.

The discussion had taken place between MPs Sumanthiran and Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam and Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong.

The TNA has said it had a very cordial and useful discussion on current affairs and the concerns of the Tamil people of the north and east.

It is interesting that in December 2022, Rasamanickam had accused China of being a friend of Mahinda Rajapaksa and not Sri Lanka. He had also threatened to launch a ‘China go home’ campaign.