UPFA
gears for no holds barred contest
 The
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is already crying foul. The JVP has had
the wind taken out of its sails because the government is implementing
its war cry against terrorism, and also because the UPFA has cleverly
engineered a split in its ranks by getting the Wimal Weerawansa faction
to support the ruling party. Now the JVP is accusing the Alliance of
using the war for political mileage. Whether this is done consciously or
not, it is a fact that the political benefits of the war are accruing to
the ruling party. There is little that the JVP, which claims to be the
‘third force’ in what is essentially a two-party system, can do about
it. The major Opposition party, the UNP has at long last realised the
futility of criticising the war effort and has changed its stance. But
its efforts to make amends ended in a public relations disaster last
week
Even before the elections for the Central and North Western
Provincial Councils are concluded, the government sprang another
surprise at the Opposition last week: the dissolution of the Western
Provincial Council.
This was expected for some time now, but the abrupt announcement caught
quite a few by surprise, especially as the Council was singled out for
dissolution, with the Uva and Southern Provincial Councils still in
operation under their current administrations.
The thinking appears to be that of these three councils, the Western
Provincial Council would be the hardest for the government to wrest
control of. This province, with the populous districts of Colombo,
Kalutara and Gampaha comprises mostly urban voters and has not been the
ruling United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA)’s traditional stronghold.
The Colombo district in particular, with its multi-ethnic,
multi-religious makeup and cosmopolitan constituency, has been a
favourite hunting ground for the United National Party (UNP). Even at
the last Presidential election, the UNP came up trumps in the Colombo
district, garnering a sizeable majority despite the UPFA holding sway in
many electorates in the south of the district.
Therefore, the think tanks in the government, believe this would be a
prudent moment to go to the polls in this province, what with the
government basking in the afterglow of the recent military victories in
the North, with the overrunning of Mullaitivu imminent.
Chances
Moreover, the ruling party is taking no chances, and there is every
likelihood that it will throw the heavyweights into the fray - most
possibly in the form of Parliamentarian and Presidential sibling Basil
Rajapaksa as the chief ministerial candidate.
Former Chief Minister Reginald Cooray has lately been an embarrassment
to the UPFA, flirting with the UNP at times, and making public
statements that are forthright but unflattering to the government.
Therefore, a return to Parliament for Cooray - who could fill the
National List slot that Basil Rajapaksa would vacate, would be a
convenient game of political musical chairs for the President. In
addition, it would also serve another, understated purpose - that of
introducing a Rajapaksa to the Gampaha district, a traditional
stronghold of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party for decades, since
independence, but always recognised to be bastion of the Bandaranaikes.
By having the Western Provincial Council Poll separately, the ruling
party will also ensure that all the resources at its command could be
channelled for this exercise, instead of diluting it by conducting
elections for other provinces on the same day. That again indicates that
the President and the UPFA is gearing for a no holds barred contest and
will not be satisfied until they control all the provincial councils in
the country.
Opposition
This strategy is indeed placing the Opposition in a difficult position.
It is a fact that the government may have faced many a problem with
regard to managing the economy , the ‘hedging’ deal, the attacks on
media personnel and human rights issues, to mention a few.
But for the Opposition, it is also a stubborn fact that the sense of
national rejoicing at the military successes in the battlefields of the
North, have led to a surge in popularity for the government, and for
President Mahinda Rajapaksa in particular.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is already crying foul. The JVP has
had the wind taken out of its sails because the government is
implementing its war cry against terrorism, and also because the UPFA
has cleverly engineered a split in its ranks by getting the Wimal
Weerawansa faction to support the ruling party. Now the JVP is accusing
the Alliance of using the war for political mileage.
Whether this is done consciously or not, it is a fact that the political
benefits of the war are accruing to the ruling party. There is little
that the JVP, which claims to be the ‘third force’ in what is
essentially a two-party system, can do about it.
The major Opposition party, the UNP has at long last realised the
futility of criticising the war effort and has changed its stance. But
its efforts to make amends ended in a public relations disaster last
week.
Statement
Its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe issued a statement praising the efforts
of the Armed Forces in the North. However, it was delivered not
off-the-cuff, but from a prepared text, and Wickremesinghe’s performance
was more contrived than convincing or comfortable.
The state media was quick to capitalise on this and juxtaposed
Wickremasinghe’s latest statement with his previous remarks where he
stated that Thoppigala was a jungle, and those of UNP Parliamentarian
Ravi Karunanayake, who also stated that the troops captured ‘Pamankada’
and not ‘Alimanakada’ (Elephant Pass,) and ran these clips at prime time
on state television to devastating effect.
Clearly, even though the UNP appears to have realised that it would need
to support the war effort if it intends to make any headway in the
electoral races in the South, its implementation of that strategy leaves
much to be desired - a factor that can have disappointing consequences
for the party at the provincial polls in the Central, North Western and
Western Provinces.
The UNP would also have to tackle the issue of selecting a chief
ministerial candidate for the western province - who will most probably
have to take on the might of Basil Rajapaksa. At this moment in time, no
senior party man has offered to toss his hat into the ring for this
task.
Nevertheless, the Western Provincial Poll could prove a useful dress
rehearsal for the Opposition, in gauging public opinion in the different
electoral regions, and getting its organisational act together- even if
the final results do not go their way.
**** |
