This Diyawanna member elected from a district not far from Colombo is a heavyweight of the JO and he is also a distant kinsman of the former strongman.  He hails from a prominent political cum business family. 

A rumour went viral recently that this politico vehemently opposed a majority-backed proposal of the JO to run a popular sibling of the R-family as the party candidate at the upcoming big poll.  The rumour also said that this politico was keener on scuttling this proposal than the maverick from the old left who has now found refuge in the JO. 

Some party stalwarts, puzzled over the politico’s aversion to nominating the R-family sibling as the party candidate had made discreet inquiries to find the reason for his seemingly inexplicable stance. They now claim that they have stumbled on the reason that seemed unfathomable: the politico had decided that none, but he himself should be the party candidate at the next big poll and he had entertained this ambition following a prediction made to him by a dignitary of a certain religious denomination: that he could occupy the country’s highest political office for sure if he made a bid for it!