Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) which claimed to be the second-largest Party in the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) today said it has decided not to request for a national list slot as they wanted, in view to prevent the breakup of the alliance.

“TPA played a pivotal role in forming the SJB. The telephone is a common symbol and does not belong to one party. We have become the second-largest party in SJB. Therefore, we did not want to break this alliance by demanding national list slots,” TPA Leader Mano Ganesan said at a press conference yesterday.

Mr Ganesan came up with this remark in response SJB MP S. M. Marikar who said the other day that TPA does not have the right to demand a national list slot.

“We had got 330,041 votes, which was more than what UNP had got at this election,” he said.

Asked whether the CWC had made a comeback at this election, Mr Ganesan said CWC had been able to secure only two MPs.

Responding to another question raised by the journalists whether the TPA members met the Indian High Commissioner after the elections, Mr Ganesan said they did meet the Indian diplomat. “There is nothing unusual in us meeting the Indian High Commissioner as the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his best wishes to SLPA as well. “Indian government wished the ruling party and us and there is nothing unusual about it,” he said.

MP P. Digambaram said TPA was disappointed as there was no Cabinet Minister representing the plantation sector Tamils in the Nuwara Eliya District. (Yohan Perera)