Political crossovers galore!

16 August 2024 08:30 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 39 Bookmark

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Colombo, August 16 (Daily Mirror) - With the 2024 Presidential Election on the horizon, Sri Lankan political landscape is once again seeing a wave of crossovers as politicians jump ship in a desperate bid to stay afloat.

At present, there are five main candidates for the presidential election namely Ranil Wickremesinghe as an independent candidate, Anura Kumara Dissanayake from NPP, Namal Rajapaksa from SLPP, Sajith Premadasa from SJB and Dilith Jayaweera from ‘Sarvajana Balaya’ alliance.

In recent weeks, MPs have switched parties and pledged support for various candidates, regardless of their original parties. This is not because of any real change in beliefs but purely out of their self-interest. For example, a massive number of MPs who were elected to Parliament in 2020 under the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has aligned with incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe. This includes MPs Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Prasanna Ranatunga, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, S.M. Chandrasena, S.B. Dissanayake, Kanchana Wijesekera, Shehan Semasinghe, Susil Premajayantha, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Bandula Gunawardana, Nimal Lanza, Tharaka Balasuriya, Piyal Nishantha, Geetha Samanmalee Kumarasinghe, Ali Sabry, Jeevan Thondaman. Almost all of them had at one point fiercely criticized Wickremesinghe and his policies. Some even went to the extent where they declared that they wouldn’t sleep until Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom they are now supporting, was jailed.

Further, SLPP MPs like Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Gamini Waleboda, Channa Jayasumana, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Gevindu Cumaratunga have aligned with Dilith Jayaweera who publicly claims to be instrumental in bringing Gotabaya Rajapaksa into power in 2019.

Notably, SLPP MP Premalal Jayasekara or Choka Malli who pledged support for Wickremesinghe a couple weeks ago recently switched back to Presidential candidate Namal Rajapaksa.

On the other hand, SLPP MPs like Nalaka Godahewa, Dullas Alahapperuma, Charitha Herath, G. L. Peiris, Chandima Weerakkody, Dilan Perera, Sudarshini Fernandopulle and Shan Vijayalal de Silva have announced support to Sajith Premadasa.

Moreover, SJB MPs Rajitha Senarathne, Vadivel Suresh, M. Velu Kumar, Ishaq Rahuman, Puttalam District MP Ali Sabri Rahim and Digamadulla District MP S.M.M. Musharraf have extended support for Ranil.

All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), led by MP Rishad Bathiudeen recently inked an agreement with SJB to support Sajith Premadasa while Mano Ganesan, Palani Digambaran and Patali Champika Ranawaka too extended support for Sajith.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP Dayasiri Jayasekara pledged support to Sajith while SLFP MPs like Duminda Dissanayake, Mahinda Amaraweera, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Chamara Sampath Dassanayake have extended support for Ranil.

Analyzing the crossovers, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has fractured into multiple factions, with members supporting the candidacies of Ranil Wickremesinghe, Namal Rajapaksa, Sajith Premadasa, and Dilith Jayaweera. Similarly, the SJB MPs are split into two groups: one backing Ranil Wickremesinghe and the other supporting Sajith Premadasa.

It’s noteworthy that the National People’s Power (NPP) has remained the only alliance or party that does not welcome any defecting politicians.

This behaviour is nothing new. For many years, politicians in Sri Lanka have been switching sides without any principles—just to stay in power. The people of Sri Lanka watch, frustrated, as their representatives play musical chairs, betraying the very mandates they were elected to fulfill. But now, voters are not as easily fooled. These politicians might soon find that they’re digging their own graves, losing the trust of even their most loyal supporters.