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The election of a new lay custodian for the main Devalaya in the Deep South is in the offing and about 20 aspirants are already in the running, they say.

Gratifications on offer to those who have a say in the election, range from super limousines to all expenses-paid jaunts to a wide choice of foreign destinations. This position over the years has become more coveted than a high political office and the ongoing mad scramble for it is such that the much revered Deity of Ruhuna should be watching it with a sense of shame, a Devalaya source remarked.

A wealthy politico hailing from the Ampara area is said to be throwing his money left and right in the bid to become the next lay custodian of the Devalaya.  However, a group of Buddhist monks has already begun a campaign to promote the opinion that a strictly apolitical candidate should be considered for election to this office.

Meanwhile, certain VIPs in the Moneragala district have taken up the position that this ‘Nilame’ office is a 40-year long ‘legacy’ of the people of their district and they are determined not to allow an ‘outsider’ to grab it this time round.

However, there is a rumour abuzz that a certain candidate said to be acceptable to all interested parties has already been groomed and he is being kept incognito until the right time. And the candidates out in the open are said to be highly disconcerted over this rumour. There is a certain politico in Moneragala who is said to be privy to the move to keep the particular candidate under cover, but he is mum about it, they say.