D.B. Wijetunga’s initials contained a lot of puns. As soon as he became prime minister, the two letters became known as “If you give, I will accept.” A few days after becoming president, the two letters were dubbed ‘Doing Bloody Good’. In Sinhala, he is said to do exceptionally well. When everyone began saying those words after he became president, the opposition became irritated. When Premadasa was killed, the Presidency was within the grasp of the opposition. However, the opposition got shattered after the UNP won the subsequent provincial council elections.
‘DB will have a chance if contested with Mrs. Bandaranaike…’
This was the most popular gossip among Colombo’s political gossipers at the time.
This story was created on the basis that the party’s leader, Mrs. Bandaranaike, represents the party’s past era, which is associated with queues and terror, and that voters were afraid to vote for her. Chandrika, who became Chief Minister in the provincial council election, had given the party a new outlook, and there was speculation that if she ran in the presidential election, the young Chandrika could defeat the elderly Wijetunga.
‘Mom or daughter?’
This was the dilemma faced by Sri Lanka Freedom Party members at the time. The party’s seniors said Chandrika should not be the candidate because she has no experience as an MP. However, young MPs such as S.B., Mangala, Nandimitra Ekanayake, and Jeyaraj have stated that if Mrs. Bandaranayake contests, she risks losing, and that Chandrika should be nominated as the new leader.
The Wijetunga government was well aware of the conflict. U.N.P leaders advised Wijetunga to run in the presidential election.
Mother and daughter are competing for office. Let us take advantage of this opportunity and run for president…’
Not only did U.N.P. leaders speak in unison, but so did the entire party. Wijetunga, unable to tolerate the party’s squabbling, asked his closest advisers, lawyer Tilak Marapana and press secretary Harold Peiris, whether to run in the presidential or general elections first.
‘Sir, these people are attempting to victimise you. Sir, try to target them before that. Go to the general election to get a sense of what’s happening. If you win, go to a presidential election, they suggested. Wijetunga accepted their advice. He dissolved parliament without informing anyone. The Popular Front, which is led by the SLFP, won the popular vote.
But they got 105 seats.
‘Now, sir, create a crisis within the party. Tell Mrs. Bandaranayake not ask Chandrika to take over as Prime Minister.
At the time, one of Wijetunga’s closest advisors, Gamini Dissanayake, requested Wijetunga.
If Chandrika is not appointed Prime Minister, there will be riots across the country. UNP will be lost for good. Give Chandrika the position of Prime Minister.
‘J.R. informed Wijetunga from Ward place. Wijetunga was also very terrified. JR’s advice helped him feel better.
Would Wijetunga have won if he had run in an earlier presidential election…?’
It depends on whether the battle between mother and daughter for presidential candidature benefits Wijetunga or not. Even though Wijetunga was defeated by holding the general election earlier, the U.N.P got a strong opposition. If Wijetunga had held the presidential election earlier and Mrs Bandaranayake or Chandrika had won, the United Nations Party would have been swept out in the election.
‘Is that why Basil is asking a general election before the presidential election…?’
That is Basil’s argument. Basil knows that if the candidate wins the presidential election and goes to the general election, he knows ‘pohottuwa’ will be over. If the presidential election is held earlier, Basil thinks that if Sajith wins, Anura will become second the leader of the opposition would capture power. Basil thinks that the majority of Pohottu MPs can be elected to Parliament because the JVP team is weak if they go to the general election early. Basil thinks that he will be able to catch the opposition.
‘Then how does Ranil think…?’
Ranil has no desire to make bud as the opposition. Ranil knows that if the general election is held early, the UNP will get eliminated. Ranil knows that then he will lose his last chance to contest the presidential election. Ranil knows very well that Sajith will win the general election. He knows from the 1974 results that if a party wins a general election even though it does not get 113 seats, the next president will be the leader of that party.
He is a leader who served as Prime Minister under his rival Chandrika. Ranil knows that she won the presidential election with a huge mandate, and when Ranil won the general election in 2001, she was too scared to give him the post of defence minister. On the other hand, Chandrika was afraid even when she had 4 years left in her presidential term. Ranil has a few months left today. He is a member of parliament who came from the national list and became president with the help of Pohottuwa. Whether Sajith or Anura wins, he has to pack his things and go home. If the U.N.P. is not re-elected, his U.N.P. Leadership is also will be lost.
But if the presidential election is allowed and he stays in the presidency for a few more months, he may be dreaming that something will change and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya will either be destroyed or will join him. If that dream does not come true, he can go home without contesting the presidential election. If he wants to continue politics without retiring, he can contest the general election or can come to the parliament through the national list.
If there is an earlier general election, he will lose that opportunity. He cannot stay at home during another general election. He has to campaign to win the UNP as the party leader. If the U.N.P contests alone and meets the fate of the 2020 general election, he is doomed. Pohottuwa and U.N.P. competed and if the candidates are not allowed to win, the UNP would be sidelined. The bud is very good at that job. This is how the Mahindaists defeated Maithrie’s candidates in the 2015 general election.
There is no other cabinet in the history of the world that is as afraid of votes as Ranil’s cabinet. The majority of the cabinet members are members from the national list. The majority have no party. They are afraid to think about which party they will contest next. So they are looking to earn some money by holding ministerial positions for a few more months.
‘This president and this government are a bubble. They know that this bubble will burst no matter what the vote. Until then, they like to dream. What the media does is to plant those dreams’. – Gurudawa
