A meeting of the Green party’s Diyawanna group was held at the official residence of Number Two recently.

Soon after walking out after the meeting, a group of Punchi Dasa backers sent a message to WhatsApp group saying: “It’s unanimously decided. Punchi Dasa will be our candidate!”

In a tit for tat move, those opposed to Punchi Dasa had minutes later posted another message: “Please don’t be misled by wrong information. A candidate was not selected.”

Now the loyalists of the two rival groups at the grass roots level too have joined ‘the short message-battle’, they say.