Biggest losers

Wednesday, 19 August 2015 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, widely tipped to obtain 10 or more seats in Monday’s poll, put up a disappointing showing, managing to secure only four seats electorally and two additional seats on the national list.

JVP strongmen in Matara Sunil Handunetti and Samantha Vidyaratne were both voted out of office, while the party’s Trade Union leader K.D. Lalkantha failed to secure a seat in the Colombo District.

The JVP managed to win one seat each in the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Hambantota Districts respectively.

“The JVP is actually the biggest loser in this election,” said Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda, Political Scientist, speaking with Daily FT. Prof. Uyangoda said the election analysis showed that JVP had started to appeal to urban, educated people, and their message may not have filtered through to their own rural constituency.

“We are seeing a sort of gentrification of the JVP, which is resulting in the loss of their constituency,” the political scientist said. “So there is a section of Sri Lankan educated voters who listen to Anura Kumara Dissanayaka’s speeches, but vote for Ranil Wickremesinghe,” Prof. Uyangoda explained.

But President Maithripala Sirisena’s loyalists within the UPFA, whose campaign was led de facto by Mahinda Rajapaksa, performed poorly in Monday’s poll.

Sirisena loyalists S.B. Dissanayake, Lakshman Yapa, Wijithamuni Soyza, Jagath Pushpakumara, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Lakshman Seneviratne and Piyasena Gamage were among the UPFA members who failed to secure seats in the election.

Prof. Uyangoda said their defeat was expected, after the Rajapaksa campaign actively dissuaded voters from casting votes for these candidates. “President Sirisena’s last two bombshells, his letter to Mahinda Rajapaksa and the sacking of the two secretaries also caused profound anger among Rajapaksa loyalists,” Prof. Uyangoda said, which may have led to protest votes against Sirisena proxies.

Former Army Chief and Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka and his Democratic Party also failed to secure a single seat in Parliament, after the party decided to contest alone in the election. Fonseka also fielded his son-in-law Danuna in Gampaha and his wife Anoma Fonseka in Gampaha.

The Bodu Bala Sena, contesting as the Bodhu Jana Peramuna also failed to secure seats in Monday’s poll, polling a mere 20,377 votes islandwide.

Meanwhile, in the UNP camp, party founder D.S. Senanayake’s grandson and former Minister Rukman Senanayake was defeated in the Kegalle District. (DB)