“Never thought Sajith Premadasa would be a weak leader”– Ajith Mannapperuma

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) candidate and former Member of Parliament Ajith Mannapperuma (Pix: by Pradeep Pathirana)

Q: What exactly transpired when signing nominations? 
I have been working as the SJB Gampaha District organiser for 20 years. I served as the Mayor for seven years, four years as a provincial councilor and 12 years as a Member of Parliament from the Gampaha District. So I signed nominations for the upcoming Parliamentary Election as the Organiser for the Gampaha District. We are under immense pressure when we sign nominations. We contest to get a seat in the Opposition because we know we can’t represent the ruling party. On the other, hand the financial burden is too much. During the previous election, I obtained a loan of Rs. 50 lakhs from a state bank and even during the Presidential Election held this year I had to obtain another loan. When I called the bank this time I obtained a personal loan of Rs. 200 lakhs through an overdraft. I have no issue repaying the loan because I have a monthly income of Rs. 6-7 lakhs. By the time I signed nominations I had already spent around Rs. 10-15 lakhs for election-related work. But the day after I signed nominations I was informed that the SJB Gampaha organiser position had been given to another individual. When inquired I was told that this individual had previously worked for Ranil Wickremesinghe and later on he was taken to the SJB and offered the post of Gampaha organiser. But I didn’t believe what happened. I trusted Sajith Premadasa and I knew he wouldn’t make such a stupid decision. I shared all my thoughts with him and associated with him very closely. If he had any reason to remove me from the Organiser post he should have discussed it with me first. 

Q: What happened next?

 I was in shock and utter disappointment and I wanted to know what transpired and what made him take this decision. So I immediately called him. He is someone who responds to my calls almost immediately. But on that day he didn’t pick up the phone. Then I called the SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara but he didn’t respond either. Ranjith is a senior student in my school and I immediately drove to his place. I knew he hadn’t left his residence yet. Even at that point, I couldn’t believe that something of this nature had happened and I wanted to confirm whether it was true. Had the SJB leader called and informed me about any matter and communicated his decision to me, this situation would have been different. So Ranjith confirmed that the incident was true and he said that anybody who has a good knowledge about politics wouldn’t have removed an organiser position amid an election. If he had wanted to remove me from that position he could have done so after the election or before signing nominations. I was in complete shock because I’m in debt after obtaining so many loans for election activities and I’m working for a party that doesn’t win. Then I called Tissa Attanayake because he was one individual who defended me when people made false accusations against me. Even he agreed that this decision was wrong. I must have made more than 40 phone calls to Sajith. I then convened all politburo members of the Party and discussed what I should be doing next. They said that there seems to be no future with the current leadership and that it’s better for me to step down as I would have to represent SJB alongside him in Parliament. Then I called a press briefing and announced that even though I have signed nominations I will not contest. I urge people not to vote for me because I can’t work with this leader in Parliament despite my name being included in the ballot paper. 

Q: We saw many other contestants such as Damitha Abeyratne, Hirunika Premachandra and even Patali Champika Ranawaka facing similar disappointments. What do you have to say?

We saw Sajith giving promises to many people. He would promise them the sun and the moon but he would never fulfill them. But I never thought he would treat me the same way. He is angry with people who are educated and talented. We saw how he sidelined Patali as soon as he joined the party. We were disappointed about these matters but he joined the Party again during the last Presidential Election and the two parties came to an agreement. Even this agreement was breached. 

Q: But Sajith Premadasa remains to keep mum about these few incidents. How do you perceive this behaviour? 

I chaired the Environmental Committee in Parliament and I have done a great deal of work while chairing this Committee. From seeking compensation for the X-press Pearl incident to the human-elephant conflict etc. I have submitted the most number of reports through this Committee. But Sajith Premadasa has a habit of intervening in these Committees. When Dr. Harsha de Silva chaired the Finance Committee he intervened again and they came to a conclusion that he can be an observer but cannot make any remarks. Patali is an educated politician and is someone with a vision. But he too received step- motherly treatment from the beginning. Even Damitha and Hirunika are popular figures. Sajith’s senior-most advisor is Lakshman Fonseka. I called Fonseka and said that it is not right to involve the family including siblings in politics because I felt that people didn’t like their presence. But the Party is continuing its work and then I requested him to invite Jalani Premadasa for a meeting in Gampaha. But even if Jalani participates she wouldn’t address the people and therefore I thought I should invite Hirunika as well. So I informed Fonseka that both Jalani and Hirunika will attend the meeting. Over  1000 people attended this meeting but I realised that Hirunika is not willing to come. When I called her she said that even though the Party leader had requested her to participate at my event Fonseka had discouraged her from attending the event. So she was in a dilemma. I then called Fonseka and said that we all are working to ensure that Sajith claims his victory and asked him to resolve their internal problems separately. He then persuaded Hirunika to attend the event but she didn’t turn up. So this clearly shows that Sajith Premadasa is being controlled by a separate group of people. 

Q: Did you resign from the United National Party due to issues in the leadership? 

It is because of the UNP that I came this far. If you take my history I am an engineering graduate and I have been working in the construction industry. This is when Ranil Wickremesinghe visited my home and invited me to enter politics. I am someone who disliked politics. But I studied at the university thanks to the Mahapola scholarship and that is thanks to former education minister Lalith Athulathmudali. So I couldn’t believe how a politician could do such good deeds. I then read his biography and studied his political journey and was convinced that such individuals are also engaged in politics. So when Mr. Wickremesinghe visited me with Karu Jayasuriya I decided to enter politics because both of them were gentlemen. But eventually when everyone started working against Ranil Wickremesinghe and broke away from the party to form a new one, I knelt before him and said that I would be joining hands with Sajith Premadasa. But to date, I haven’t said anything against Ranil Wickremesinghe because it was he who guided me in this journey. Perhaps Sajith must be angry that I don’t say anything against RW. People may have pointed this out to him and claimed that I have kept one foot in RW’s camp. But I never thought Sajith would be a weak leader who believes all these tales. During the last Presidential Election he called me and said that I am his Environment Minister. This was his promise. But the same individual removed me from the position of organiser. I’m here as a result of my education. My parents didn’t do politics and they don’t come from aristocratic families. I’m here because of Ranil Wickremesinghe and I have come up the ranks as a Mayor, provincial councilor and created my path. So I can’t say anything against my mentor. 

Q: So what exactly is happening in the SJB? Is Sajith Premadasa working according to his own will or is he being influenced by someone? 

We are not convinced whether he is making decisions on his own or whether he is taking decisions after consulting other members in the Party. But there’s some unknown force that is controlling him. He makes haphazard decisions and when we question the Party’s General Secretary he too complains that he doesn’t understand why such decisions were made. So it is clear that he doesn’t listen or take advice from those within the Party but someone who is manoeuvering him behind the scenes. General Sarath Fonseka claimed that certain individuals engaged in gambling businesses are controlling him but we didn’t believe him then. But now we wonder whether this claim has any truth to it. I have no competition with the leader and therefore I shouldn’t be a challenge for him. He can discuss anything with me. But to date he hasn’t called me at least once after this incident happened. 

Q: A country’s opposition is considered the most important party or camp in any political culture. Do you think that the SJB could form a strong Opposition in the upcoming election with all these internal issues coming to the fore? 

In 2019, we worked for Sajith Premadasa knowing that he is going to lose. At that time, people were more inclined to ensure their safety and national security and were turning their backs on the Yahapalana government. Six months prior to the election we knew that whoever who contested from our Party would be defeated. It was in such a volatile situation that we worked for Sajith Premadasa. He gained over 5,500,000 votes but five years later, when the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime collapsed and people were challenged with multiple crises we thought Premadasa had a good chance of winning the next election. All our supporters were of a similar view. But during the last Presidential Election he could only get 4.3 million votes. So at this rate will he be able to win a future election? We anyway observed a trend where educated individuals were rejecting Sajith. We knew he was losing a majority of voters from the public sector for instance. Around 20 senior politicians in the Party realised this trend. So we got together to discuss how we could rescue our Party leader from a landslide loss. It was here that we came to a conclusion that the best option would be to forge an alliance between SJB and UNP. Those rejecting Sajith respected Ranil Wickremesinghe. But people who expected houses, dry rations and other perks rallied around Sajith. So we thought if both parties got together we could bring in a government like the J. R Jayewardene – R. Premadasa government and that it could easily continue for 15 years. When I communicated this plan to Sajith he said that 47% of people have pledged their support to him while 30% have abstained from voting. He said this based on surveys that had been done and he was confident that he could gain 50% votes. I told Fonseka that it would be a tough call for Sajith to win on his own and that it would be better if they forge an alliance with Ranil. But Fonseka was also of the view that Sajith could win single handedly. So we thought he would work in the best interest of the Party and its leader because he has invested some money as well. But when the results were released we realized that what we suggested would have been the best option. During the previous election the SJB received around 17,000 votes from the Gampaha District but with my intervention as the organiser I managed to increase the count to 22,000 votes. The UNP had been severely defeated in the Gampaha District. In fact a UNP politician from the Gampaha District was elected to Parliament back in 1988. He remained for five years and lost thereafter. So after 20 years I got elected to Parliament from SJB from the Gampaha District and I worked for 12 years.  So it is rather shocking and disappointing to find out from a third party source that my Party organiser position had been removed without prior notice. If this is how my Party leader is treating me there’s no point in going to Parliament with him. 

Q:  But will you be contesting under the SJB ticket? 

Yes my candidate number is 10. I will not give up politics. But after the election results are released I will take a decision on how I will continue my career in politics. For the time being I will not be working for any other political party, my party or myself. If I’m representing a Party I have to be loyal to the Party. But when I know that the leader himself is a backstabber I can’t simply go and act in front of people. 

Q:  Several politicians have made remarks to the effect that they are indirectly supporting NPP. What are your comments? 

Even if I get elected to Parliament or not, Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the President for the next five years. But AKD was elected as the President against the will of many individuals for the first time in political history of this country. Despite my political affiliation I will support him to develop this country. If we continue to pull his leg claiming that we are from the Opposition it will have a drastic impact on the country and its people. We saw what happened to the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration where ultimately the people suffered. Therefore as politicians we need to support AKD to ensure that he wouldn’t leave his seat halfway through the tenure. The final objective of engaging in politics is social service; so if someone else is engaging in social service we should support him and if he is engaged in any sort of wrongdoing we should voice against those actions as well. 

Q:  So what would be the future of SJB? 

All these events indicate Sajith Premadasa’s downfall. The number of votes he had been able to secure is reducing. I feel he wouldn’t even be able to secure 2 million votes at the next election. So he will continue to diminish and would eventually be replaced by a new leader.