Sajith needs to change course or SJB could go the way of UNP

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa undertook an official visit to India last week and while the visit  gave him an opportunity to mingle with senior ministers and top officials in the Indian Government, those within his own party were left in the dark about his visit.

Premadasa, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, seems to have kept  his visit top secret with even the most senior members of the SJB unaware of the visit and only getting not know their leader was on an official visit to India from media reports.

While the seniors were sidelined, Premadasa took with him three persons, none with any prominence in politics or within the SJB. They were  Kusum Wijetilleke, his Adviser on Political Economy, Chamith Wijesundera, a SJB member of the Kotte UC who on his X (formerly twitter) handles identities himself as a special representative of the Opposition Leader and Lakshman Fonseka, a businessman, a close confident of Premadasa  whose official role within the SJB is known to none, expect maybe the party leader.

Those who are on Premadasa’s side could say that he is the SJB leader and hence he decides who goes with him and it’s his prerogative to decide on whether to brief  his party on his overseas tours  or not.

But it’s not that simple. While his role as leader of the SJB is a political one, he is also the Leader of the Opposition which makes him responsible to the public of this country. His position is on par with that of a Cabinet minister, he is entitled to all the perks that go with it and hence there is public expectation of what he has to deliver on behalf of the public.

Being the main opposition in Parliament with a Government that has a two-third majority, it becomes even more important for the opposition to be effective by keeping a hawkish eye on the Government.  Going by performance of the SJB MPs in the last years, since the NPP took power, the public have already seen how a fair number of MPs are calling out the Government when it goes off track and keeping it in check. They have managed to keep the Government on its toes  by continuously raising issues of public importance. But it seems that the  SJB leader does not appreciate the capable MPs. Otherwise, instead of his handpicked team, his Indian tour would have included some of these MPs which would’ve given them the rare opportunity to meet with senior Indian officials and hold discussions.

Premadasa is making the same mistake that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe  made which led to the major split in his party and the formation of the SJB. Wickremesinghe too chose to keep his cronies close and sideline promising politicians leading to their defection.

Premadasa led the breakaway group from the UNP with much gusto but having formed a new party he’s going down the same path. He’s now the party supremo who has his way and his say while other members in the party are being forced to be ‘yes men and yes women.’

The bane of Sri Lankan politics has been the lack of internal democracy  within political parties. Instead of collective  decisions, all decision making is left in the hands of one man and even when such decisions lead down the path to self-destruction, the others tag along, that is,till they reach breaking point.

As things stand now, many in the SJB  are fast reaching that breaking point. The leader has alienated many in his party and instead of playing the role that is expected of the opposition, he’s seemingly more eager to please the Government than hold it accountable.

Premadasa needs to change course and that too very soon. Otherwise, what happened to the UNP in 2020 when mass defection left it orphaned could soon happen to Premadasa’s SJB.