At long last, the Group 16 formally joined forces with the JO group! It was a long-looked -for happy event for some of them. The former strongman visibly in high spirits made it a point to express his pleasure at the presence of his loyalist from the Gampaha political family too on the occasion.

The meeting over, the former strongman invited the journalists impatiently waiting outside to enter the hall. He also told them that the JO stalwart from Gampaha too was present.

In fact, the focus of the journalists as well as photographers was the Gampaha politico and they were all looking for him. Because it was public knowledge that the Gamapaha politico was dead against the proposed marriage between the Group 16 and the JO and he had launched a tirade against the Group 16 in public even a few days earlier.

However, the media hawks found to their disappointment that the Gampaha politico had vanished from the scene!

Later it transpired that the Gampaha politico had quietly made his exit through the rear entrance of the hall because he knew that the media crowd was out to question him about his volte-face on the issue of the JO accommodating the Group 16 in its fold!