Ranil Remains Leader of UNP
Harsha and Eran Unite to Merge SJB with UNP
Gang Activity Behind SJB’s Decline Exposed
Where Sajith Went Wrong Revealed
Opinion Poll Results
In the weeks leading up to the presidential election, the Inside Politics column has consistently shared insights from various opinion polls. These polls, conducted by reputable institutions and intelligence agencies, indicated that Mr Sajith Premadasa was leading with 35% to 40% support, followed closely by Mr Anura Kumara Dissanayake at 27% to 30%. Meanwhile, Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe was polling between 10% and 15%. In a special issue of Mawrata, published last Wednesday (18), we also reported that none of the candidates were expected to secure more than 50% of the vote. This implied that, for the first time in history, the election would require a second-preference count, with fierce competition unfolding in several districts.
However, the official election results have since significantly diverged from these predictions. This column now aims to provide clarity on the disparity between the opinion polls and the actual election outcome.
Transparency and Risk
By sharing the poll results before the election, we accepted a significant risk. One of the polls we referenced was conducted by an organization trusted by political parties, embassies, government leaders, and the private sector. Other polls came from intelligence sources. While slight variations existed between the two sets of results, their overall alignment led us to publish the information confidently.
Incomplete Information
On Wednesday, we published the latest poll results based on the most recent data available to us. However, at that time, we had not yet received the final report from intelligence services. The last intelligence poll we received was conducted approximately a week and a half before the close of campaigning on the 18th, and we based our special issue on this data. Readers of the Inside Politics column know we have a reputation for accuracy, as none of the information we’ve shared in the past has been proven false. The results we published were verified multiple times, and we are now prepared to explain the events that occurred following the release of these poll results.
Government Intervention
When we disclosed the poll results from the intelligence services, it became clear which service was involved. After our publication, both President Ranil Wickramasinghe and his Senior Advisor, Mr. Sagala Ratnayake, ordered the intelligence services to cease further polling on the election. This unprecedented directive was driven by the fact that the intelligence reports painted an unfavourable picture for the former President. Our newspaper, Mawrata, was the only publication privy to these intelligence findings.
Candidate Reactions
Following the publication of these results, Mr Sajith Premadasa and Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake personally contacted us to verify the accuracy of the polling data. We confirmed that the figures were directly sourced from intelligence reports, and subsequent investigations by both candidates reaffirmed the validity of the results.
Although intelligence services were instructed to halt reporting, they continued collecting data due to their obligations to share information with international counterparts, particularly in a high-stakes election like this one.
A Shift in Momentum
In addition to intelligence reports, we also referenced results from international polling institutions, which largely corroborated the intelligence data. Initial analyses showed Mr Dissanayake at 30% to 33% and Mr Premadasa between 36% and 40%. However, we missed a crucial update. By the time we went to print, the final intelligence report indicated a significant surge in support for Mr. Dissanayake in the last week of the campaign, raising his polling figures to 40%, while Mr Premadasa’s numbers fell to 35%. Unfortunately, this report arrived too late to be reflected in our Wednesday edition.
Despite this omission, all the other information we published has been fully confirmed. As predicted, no candidate surpassed the 50% threshold, and Mr. Wickramasinghe’s polling figures were consistent with our earlier reports.
A call from Anura
However, when the special issue of ‘Mawrata’ printed on the 18th hit the market on the 19th, we received a phone call from Anura again. Anura, who asked us again about the results we revealed, said that whoever the winning candidate is, the percentage will exceed 50%. But we also explained to Anura that according to the information we have received, no one can exceed the 50% percentage.
And immediately after Anura’s conversation ended, Sajith also called us to inquire about these results. There, Sajith told us that he would be 2% or 3% ahead of Anura. In this way, Sajith and Anura were engaged in conversation with us from time to time from the moment the election campaigns were over until the day of the presidential election. Accordingly, on the day before the presidential election, that is, on the 20th, the information we received said that Anura was leading by 2% or 3%. Usually, when such a result is obtained in a poll, it is reported as a ‘margin of error’. It means that either of the two could come out ahead in the final result.
Accordingly, we informed Sajith about it and said that the intelligence services have recorded a ‘margin of error’ situation in the last poll released, and Anura is ahead by about 3%. We informed Anura about this in our conversation with Anura. There, Anura confirmed it to us and said that he also received the same information, but that he was ahead of Sajith by 3%.
There we laughed and said to Anura that ‘The information that comes to us also comes to you, doesn’t it?’ Anura smiled and replied to us that ‘the majority of the section that collects that information votes for us in postal voting. What we understood there was that the information received from within must have reached Anura’s hands.
However, the question was how Anura rose to 43% and Sajith fell to 33% in the final result when both of them were at around 35%.
Making trouble?
There was no risk of any disturbance in the country as soon as information was reported that no candidate would exceed 50%. This time we are ready to reveal it for the first time through the ‘inside politics column’. The information reported to us said that even though Anura surged ahead of Sajith, there was a discussion within the country that there was a possibility of disruptive events causing great confusion in the country under a situation where it was not possible to take 50%. In the chats that took place inside, some people were making analysis and said that although Anura got 2 or 3 lakh more votes in the first round, in the counting of the second preference, if Sajith defeated Anura and came forward and won, it was said that the people who voted for Malimawa would reject this result. Then, there was a risky situation that no one could control, and the high places of the government were receiving messages from various parties asking them to take immediate steps to prevent such a situation. But when the heads of the government received this message, their responses were like ‘if we lose, it doesn’t matter if there is such a disturbance in the country’.
But with various influential parties reporting this situation to the top of the government with great responsibility, the situation had escalated to a point where they too could not take some measures in this regard. Especially since by that time, Sajith had also received information about this kind of risk, he also took steps to inform the embassies about it by getting his friends. Also, Sajith, who spoke to former army commanders Mahesh Senanayake and Daya Ratnayake, informed them that they are receiving information that such a situation may arise and to take the best possible measures to prevent it. Accordingly, Daya and Mahesh immediately set up a special operation room in the party office and took steps to monitor all the information about the situation. They also worked to inform the highest places of the information that was being received. Accordingly, the heads of the government immediately convened a high-level discussion to discuss the matter. The next biggest reason that affected it was that the embassy had already taken steps to inform the government not to allow the election to be tainted.
Red zones
However, in the discussion held by the heads of the government and the security forces regarding the risk of such an incident, there was a special discussion about the risk zones where such situations may arise. They named these after the red colour. Southern Province, North Central, North West and West were among the red-marked areas. That is the province with the districts that the compass predicted could win. Also, the districts where it was predicted that SJB would win were taken as low risk zones and marked in green. North East and Plantation were the districts so marked in green. Thus, a final decision was made regarding the areas where the army and security forces should be deployed in case of any disturbance, and it was also decided to impose a curfew on the night of the presidential election.
Discussions with the ‘compass’
Meanwhile, on the 18th, discussions were being held within the compass regarding the percentage of votes that Anura could get. The main issue analyzed there was that if Anura could not exceed 50%, the second preference would have to be counted, and in such a situation Sajith would have more advantages. Because they argued that Sajith would get the second preference in the votes given to Ranil, Namal and Dilit. Therefore, their analysis was that for Anura to win in the second round, a gap of more than 7 lakh votes should be kept between the two, and if there is a gap of less than that, Sajith will win with the second preference.
We have previously analyzed this situation within the compass in this column. There we said that although votes can be obtained from the south because Sajith will win by getting a large percentage of votes from the northern and eastern provinces, the compass had given targets to the seat organizers of those provinces that they should get at least 10% of the votes in those provinces. Accordingly, in the end, Malimawa made their plans to somehow make Anurava win with a margin of 10 lakh votes over Sajith. But we have not yet confirmed the information about how the operation was carried out.
Problem with preferences
Apart from this, some information had been reported to the security forces that some disturbance may arise in the country while the second preference is being counted. But Malima had received information from a third party that there was an attempt to create a disturbance in the country while the second vote was being counted and to send it out. Malima also had doubts about whether they are deliberately carrying out a campaign across the country saying that such a disturbance may occur. A large number of Malima leaders including Anura, Vijitha participated in this discussion, where Anura insisted that no violence of any kind should be allowed to occur. Anura had emphasized to the group to issue orders to the ground level of the party to take all measures to prevent such a thing. Accordingly, on the night before the presidential election, Malimawa took steps to send the message that even if the presidential election was won, no violence should take place to the grassroots level of the party, and that no matter which party caused conflicts, they should not interfere.
Even when that message was sent, about 4,500 political offices of the Compass had been installed around the country. Since they were all active party offices, Malima had previously planned to put up television screens in those offices on the night of the presidential election and invite the party activists to listen to the results. But with the information that a third party was planning to carry out violent acts, a message immediately received by the party offices said that the party members should stop gathering and that the party offices should be closed and emptied immediately. Also, since the Election Commission has received information that people are gathering in the party offices in Malima, the Election Commission issued a statement saying that it is prohibited to gather party members in any party office.
Due to all these facts, no violence was reported on the night of the election or after it. In that regard, the people of this country should sincerely thank the Election Commission and all the political parties. It is because of the dedication of all of them, after a decade, a very peaceful and free and fair election was given not only to the people of this country, but also to the international community. Especially, for the first time in history, an opportunity to count the second preference in a presidential election arose, but it was seen how the Election Commission completed its work with great responsibility. Also, we did not get to see the usual political nonsense like lighting firecrackers and cooking milk rice at junctions from the people. Looking at it from that point of view, it was seen that the presidential election that ended last week showed the same signs as a presidential election in a European country.
‘Hyde Park’ Conspiracy
Although the opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa was defeated in this year’s presidential election, no one within the party was seen asking Sajith to step down from the party leadership or to step down from politics. Although this was not seen in public, it was seen that an operation to remove Sajith from SJB leadership had been launched last week. This operation was launched by none other than some former SJB MPs representing Gampaha and Colombo districts who did not work for Sajith’s victory in the presidential election, who had been in a deal with Ranil since then, and even the constituencies they represented fell to the third place and lost miserably and several non-MPs.
A few of these people were also involved in the Hyde Park Corner conspiracy that took Ms. Talatha Athukorala away from Sajith and brought her to Ranil a few weeks before the presidential election. About 3 weeks ago, we revealed information about the conspiracy that took place in this Hyde Park Corner house for the first time through this column. There we did not mention the owner of this superb house at Hyde Park Corner. But this time we are ready to reveal to the country that was in that conspiracy. It is none other than UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardena, who stood up for Ranil Wickremesinghe’s victory then and now after his defeat, is trying to come to Sajith Premadasa. The whole operation of breaking Talatha and taking her to Ranil was done in this Hyde Park corner house belonging to Ruwan. Kavinda Jayawardene, Ajith Mannapperuma, Niroshan Perera also participated in the discussions held at Ruwan’s Hyde Park Corner house that day. We did not reveal these names then because it is not appropriate to create unnecessary conflicts of opinion in the society when a presidential election is around the corner. But right now we are revealing this information because the people of the country should know the names of the people who made deals with Ranil who were with Sajith. We already have many important evidence in this regard. Also, we now have a lot of information about the other people who were there when Ranil came to Ruwan’s Hyde Park Corner house. However, after we revealed the Hydepark Corner conspiracy, Ruwan had decided to completely stop holding discussions at that house. But after that, we have received a lot of information about the places where the discussions were held and who participated in them. We are also ready to reveal them to the country in the future.
Leadership for Harsha?
According to this, two or three people who were involved in the Hyde Park Corner conspiracy met with SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara last week and said that Sajith should be removed from the leadership and Harsha de Silva should be appointed as SJB leader. The politics of the two or three people who wanted Harsha to get SJB leadership is also very wonderful. They had not done any political work in the seats that was given to them. Even on the 21st the presidential election day, they were not engaged in monitoring the polling stations in their respective constituencies but were eating and drinking well at the Jetwin Hotel in Colombo 7. Hanging out in swimming pools and drinking wine until midnight. We are also ready to reveal them to the country before the general election with evidence. These seven or eight people had a good political deal with Ranil since then. We are ready to reveal everything to the country about these false political figures and the political deal they made with Ranil. Even if they are tomorrow’s ministers or the president of the country, we are not afraid of any of that. It should only be mentioned here that we are ready to reveal to the country about such figures then as well as tomorrow.
Sajith ready to go
Several people came and met Ranjith Maddumabandara and proposed Harsha as the party leader, but Sajith was very relaxed without any disturbance after the defeat of the presidential election. Sajith had made up his mind to leave the leadership and go home if the party informed him to resign from the party leadership. Accordingly, Sajith immediately called the seat organizers to the party headquarters after losing the presidential election. With this call, the seat organizers from all over the country also came to the party headquarters with great interest to see what Sajith’s position is. It was seen that the people who met Maddumabandara the day before and informed that Harsha should be made the party leader were also present at the meeting. Starting the discussion here, Sajith informed about how to face the general election and took steps to get opinion from the seat organizers to two campaigns that were already going on within the party. There, Sajith first asked what was the position of the constituency organizers on the campaign that they should join the UNP. There they very clearly informed Sajith that if he joins the UNP, Ranil must leave the UNP leadership, and if Ranil is in the party leadership, he should not join the UNP for any reason.
After that, Sajith took steps to ask for suggestions from the seat organizers and former MPs regarding the prime ministerial candidate in the general election. Ashok Abeysinghe, who stood up immediately, presented a plan and said that Sajith be the SJB prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming general election. Harshana Rajakaruna, who immediately stood up, confirmed it. Accordingly, Sajith asked all the seat organizers if there were any other related proposals. But no other proposal was presented by the council. If so, when Sajith informed the members of the party to raise their hands for the proposal, it could be seen how all the people gathered raised their hands and accepted it. Accordingly, in the end, Sajith said that he should not be involved in this matter from now on. When Sajith said that, everyone could see how Harsha was holding his hand to his face.
The Harsha-Iran deal
Meanwhile, this time we are ready to make another special disclosure. It is about an operation to bring together UNP and SJB. None other than Ruwan Wijayawardena, who was involved in the Hyde Park conspiracy, and Harsha, the Eran group who made a deal with Ranil while being inside SJB, were involved in these operations. Harsh informed Sajith about this when the UNP gave the green light for these talks. There, Sajith clearly said that there would be no discussion or any merger with Ranil or the UNP until Ranil, who is accused of looting the Central Bank, is in the UNP leadership. This was a matter that had been communicated to the party leadership by the seat organizers in the meeting of the SJB seat organizers.
When such a situation existed, last Wednesday, Harsha had taken steps to call the Kotte polling station representatives to his political office in Nawala. There were about 125 participants, and Harsha planned to get the approval of the Kotte polling agents to join the UNP in that discussion. But since the information about Harsha Ranil’s deal with UNP had already been reported and according to the results of the presidential election Sajith had lost the Kotte seat and fell to third place, the polling agents were very angry. However, after starting the meeting on the lower floor of the office, Harsha thanked all those present for voting and started informing the people about the deal to be made with the UNP. But as soon as Harsha said, ‘We are now going to make a deal with the UNP’, the gathering could be seen to be anger, in a way that Harsha had never imagined, the gathered people said, ‘Don’t get ready to make a deal. They put SJB to the third place due to deal with Ranil and U.N.P. Now you are trying to make a deal with Ranil and screw the rest of Sajith. Do not be ready to lay hands on Sajith. We will not allow it for any time. But it also received a very rude response from the polling station representatives. There, some people in the back rows were seen abusing Harsha with obscene words. Realizing that the situation could not be controlled, Harsha immediately angrily said ‘I will stop this meeting’ and went upstairs after finishing the meeting.
‘Mawrata’ exposure
This news was also reported to us at that moment. Accordingly, we reported this news on the same day through the ‘Mawrata’ website as follows.
The meeting with the polling station representatives in Harsha’s office was very heated. When they say that they will make a deal with Mabhajha, the polling agents give Harsha an ear-splitting answer. ‘Mr. Sajith lost because of the deal you made with Mbabhaja’ what deal with them? Kotte fell to third place because of that deal.. In the middle of the commotion, Harsha stops the meeting and goes upstairs
It is reported that a very heated situation has arisen in the meeting of the polling station representatives held at the Nawala party office under the chairmanship of Kotte Constituency Organizer Dr. Harsha De Silva today.
That is with the announcement made by Mr. Harsha de Silva that he will make a deal with the UNP and contest the general election together with the UNP.
In this meeting about 125 people participated, when Mr. Harsha de Silva started his speech and told this speech, almost all the people who were gathered started shouting loudly against Mr. Harsha de Silva.
When the deal story was told, the gathered people took steps to stop Mr. Harsha de Silva by saying ‘Don’t touch Sajith’.
Mr. Sajith lost the presidential election because you made a deal with Mbabhacha. Don’t get ready to make a deal with the mob without any more shame. We will not come to that.’ Harsha tried to comfort the crowd by saying ‘No.. No.. No.. We will not make a deal.”
‘We are not making a deal with Ranil… we are making a deal with Ruwan Wijayawardena. He is the one who is going to make the deal with us…’ but everyone who was gathered said in one voice, ‘He is the one who defeated Mr. Sajith together.’ What’s the deal with them? Kotte’s seat also fell to the third place this time because of that deal.”
It has been learned that some of those who were behind there have even shouted harsh words that cannot be published in the media.
In this way, when the group was expressing their opinion in a strong tone, Mr. Harsha de Silva said that ‘I will end this meeting here’.
It has been learned that Mr. Harsha de Silva, who said that, immediately ended the meeting and went upstairs to his office.
Harsha’s Kotte Voting Result :
Anura Kumara Dissanayake 25,123 votes
Ranil Wickramasinghe – 13,725
Sajith Premadasa – 11,979
Dilith Jayaweera – 1,312
Namal Rajapaksa – 1,239
Eran’s Accusations against ‘Mawrata’
This incident garnered significant attention when it was first published on our website. Soon after, numerous individuals reached out to Harsha for clarification, to which he reportedly responded by dismissing the claims as “false stories.” Additionally, during an SJB management meeting last Wednesday, the news published on the ‘Mawrata’ website became a topic of discussion. It was there that Eran directly complained to Sajith, stating that ‘Mawrata’ had fabricated the story, saying, “Look at these lies.”
In response, Sajith remarked, “We cannot control ‘Mawrata.’ They write about me, and they write about Anura. They are not obliged to write what we want.”
We, too, have a message for Eran—act democratically. Everything published in the ‘Mawrata newspaper was 100% truthful, and we have the evidence to prove it. If Eran wishes, we are prepared to disclose details of the incident that occurred after Harsha’s outburst following the meeting, which we chose not to include in our original coverage.
After the meeting ended abruptly due to the shouting of the polling agents, Harsha immediately retreated to the upper floor, closed the door, and initiated a conference call. He spoke with Eran, Kabir, and a few others. During the call, Harsha mentioned efforts to bring together the UNP and SJB at a temple in Colombo. He planned to meet Ruwan at the temple that day, accompanied by Lucky Fonseka and the SJB Secretary General.
We urge Eran to continue his political activities as he sees fit, but we will handle matters concerning ‘Mawrata’ on our terms. There is no need for Eran to instruct us on media affairs. Moreover, we harbour suspicions about who may be influencing Eran from behind the scenes, possibly the same person who once sought to sway Talata towards Ranil.
Therefore, we call on Eran to make a public statement to Harsha, refuting the claims published on the ‘Mawrata’ website, if indeed the news is false. Should this happen, we are ready to expose the political scheming of those who hide behind a facade of righteousness, dressed in suits and sarees, for the world to see.
Who Defeated Sajith?
A heated debate has emerged within the party over who ultimately led Sajith, poised on the brink of victory in the presidential election, into the depths of defeat at the last moment. A clear observation from the election results shows that the JVP, which once garnered 450,000 votes, managed to swell its support to 5.6 million out of a total of 6.9 million votes. In 2022, when Gota fled the presidency, the 6.9 million votes were essentially left up for grabs, and it became evident that the candidate capable of securing the largest share of this bloc would emerge victorious.
From the outset, Sajith focused on rallying individuals who could speak to the heart of those 6.9 million voters from Pohottuwa. Importantly, he refrained from bringing in any Pohottuwa MPs tainted by accusations of serious misconduct, such as rape. Instead, Sajith surrounded himself with a group of educated, intelligent, clean, and untainted figures. Leading this cohort was Professor G.L. Peiris, widely recognized as one of the most esteemed intellectuals in Parliament. Even today, it is universally acknowledged that G.L. Peiris remains one of the brightest minds in the legislative body.
Sajith also successfully gathered a cadre of principled leaders free from corruption accusations, including Professor Charitha Herath, Dr. Gunapala Ratnasekara, Dr. Nalaka Godaheva, attorney Wasantha Yapa Bandara, attorney Dylan Perera, and Dallas Alahapperuma. However, despite bringing this group into the fold, the unfortunate reality is that instead of utilizing their talents and expertise, an effort was launched to marginalize and sideline them.
This internal sabotage, it seems, was orchestrated by none other than Harsha and Eran.
Ranil smelled the outcome
When GLs, Charita Herats and Nalaka Godahewals came to support Sajith, it was none other than Ranil who first saw the danger. Because Ranil saw them joining Sajith as a very disadvantageous situation for him. Because of this, from the beginning, when Ranil publicly attacked GL and Nalaka Godaheva, it was none other than Harsha and Eran who pushed Ranil’s contract forward inside SJB. Accordingly, what Ranil wanted was Harsha and Earn who did a good job of marginalizing G.L. Dallas, Charita Herath, and Nalaka Godahewa.
Harsha and Eran were not alone in doing so. They prepared an economic policy called a blueprint which the village man did not understand a single thing and took steps to take it around the country. The man in the village did not understand any of this even though they put out policy statements saying Blue Print 1, Blue Print 2, and Blue Print 3, which will build the economy of the country by holding big events in big hotels. To them, Harshala’s blueprint economic policy was identical to that of the ‘Andhra Demala’.
Attacked from inside
Not only Harsha, but other people harassed this group from Pohottuwa. They did not allow these MPs to rise in their respective districts. They did not allow to organise seats. Some got half of the seat arrangements. In some places it is time. In some discussions, Harshala was also seen mocking GLs by saying ‘Old…’ in public. Joined with Ranil and criticised Nalaka Godahewala. They were forbidden to talk about the blueprint.
The result was Ranil who got 200,000 got more than 2000,000 votes. Anura who was at 4 lakhs Getting about 50 lakhs from Pohottuwa. But Sajith was not able to get votes from Pohottuwa because these so-called educated and intelligent politicians attacked from within. In the end, Sajith got only the traditional UNP votes in the villages that Sajith’s father Mr. Premadasa got. Now, no matter who some people try to blame, that is the true story.
We are ready to reveal another reference that Harsha had made. Once Harsha had said meetings wherever G.L. sits he is not ready to participate. Because of this, once there was a big commotion at the SJB May Day rally. In the end, SJB Party members of Kotte gave a good answer to Harsha, who had voted to place Sajith behind Ranil in third place. Therefore, the time has come for SJB to engage in self-criticism. Will Harsha’s blueprint continue to be carried on by Tamil, or if not, will the educated and intelligent leaders of Pohottuva, who are with the village, prepare an economic policy that the people of the village can understand and move forward? Thus, SJB should take care this time to inform these political heroes who are waiting to enter the parliament from the national list and inform them to come through the people’s vote.
Kabir is right
Something needs to be mentioned here regarding the SJB Management Committee held on Wednesday. This Management Committee meeting started with Sajith presiding it, advising everyone not to divulge any matter discussed there. But the ‘mawrata’ has a method of obtaining information in an internal discussion that takes place within any party, regardless of whether it is SJB, UNP, Malima or Pohottuwa. Even the highly confidential information that took place in the meeting held at Harsha’s party office was disclosed through the ‘Mawrata’. Although we did not take steps to report certain matters discussed in the SJB management meeting due to ethical reasons, the ‘inside politics column ‘has heard that many positive matters have been discussed there. It was in this management committee meeting that Eran made an allegation regarding the ‘Mawrata’.
It is also known that there have been many positive criticisms regarding Sajith and Laxman Fonseka, who was close to Sajith. Kabir Hashim, in particular, has pointed out many shortcomings that need to be fixed within the party immediately. We are also 100% in agreement with Kabir’s comments regarding the huge shortcomings, especially during the campaign and the weaknesses of those who led it. Also, something special should be mentioned here regarding Kabir. That is, when the others who were with Kabir were asking for the party leadership, when they were caught by various puppets, and when they were carrying out each other’s conspiracies, Kabir had expressed his opinions very honestly without getting caught to any of them. Kabir’s comments regarding the lack of a rightful place for some political leaders during the election campaign are 100% correct. Accordingly, we have to tell Kabir to free himself from this blueprint gang as soon as possible and look at his political future as an experienced political leader.
Sumanthiran Prime Minister?
With the end of the presidential election, a big rumour in the political field was that Anura had decided to appoint M.A.Sumanthiran, who is a strong leader of the Tamil National Alliance the post of Prime Minister. The rumour also said that there are Tamil Alliance representatives in Anura’s cabinet. This rumor was published on several websites, not from anywhere else, but from Ranil’s side. They also wanted to publish the news on the ‘Mawrata’ website in a very subtle way. But it didn’t take us long to realize that this news was a plant when we looked into the story as soon as it came and where it came from.
However, in the discussions between Anura and Sumanthiran before the election, Anura had presented a similar proposal to the Tamil Alliance. It said that if they join the government after the presidential election, they could be given a strong position to the Tamil Alliance to do work for the country. But there was no positive reply from Sumanthiran’s side. After the presidential election, there was no discussion between the two parties.
What Anura upto
Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake has officially started his duties after being elected as the new President. The biggest burden placed on Anura’s shoulders is to fulfil the promises made to the people in the election platforms. Taking some initiative for that, Anura took steps to increase the 15,000 rupees subsidy given to the farmers to 25,000 rupees. He also arranged to provide fuel subsidies to the fishermen.
However, even if Anura started the duties of the presidency in this way, many people expressed doubts before the presidential election results were released and said that as soon as Malimawa won, there would be a wave of violence across the country. Attacking the opponents and attacking the houses of the opponents. Anura wanted to ensure that no such violence would occur due to the organized propaganda carried out by certain parties. Anura was also able to finish it very successfully.
Accordingly, Anura has now paid attention to the process of catching thieves as promised to the people. Many people thought that as soon as Anura became president, the police would arrest the thieves and throw them in jail, but Anura did not end up in such a position. Instead, Anura has planned to bring out about 10 major frauds and corruptions that rocked the country and restart their investigations. According to this, many controversial revelations are going to come out within the next few days.
Especially, central bank bond theft is also at the top. In the past, there was talk about a Ranil-Anura deal on the political stage, but the information we have says that Anura’s government has decided to re-investigate the central bank theft from the beginning. In addition, Anura has already decided to investigate the billions worth of fraud and corruption that has happened during the last two years of government.
There are files
In addition, 3 weeks before the presidential election, we made an extraordinary revelation and said that Anura had got hold of files stating that a huge amount of money had fallen into the accounts of a certain minister’s wife and children. Also, we reported on ‘Mawrata’ about a three-acre land worth crores bought in Colombo 03 by a certain member of Ranil’s government, and about a file containing information about another similar land bought before that. The file was received by the then opposition leader Mr Sajith Premadasa. Accordingly, the news is that Anura has taken steps to conduct a special investigation on these two files. In addition to this, investigations are scheduled to start next week on many serious fraud and corruption allegations against former ministers. There is news that Anura has also decided to allow the public to give the information they know very confidentially.
Is Ranil Stepping Down?
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has led the United National Party (UNP) for 30 years since 1994 and lost around 40 elections, was defeated again in his third attempt at the presidency last week. Despite his frequent speeches on democracy, Western politics, and political ethics, Ranil has chosen to remain in UNP leadership and politics, showing no sign of stepping down. In contrast to the common practice in Western countries, where leaders often retire after losing elections, Ranil continues to stay on.
Following his defeat in the presidential election, there was speculation in political circles about a possible merger between the UNP and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). Supporting this idea, Ruwan Wijayawardene stated on Ranil’s behalf, stating that Ranil was not planning to contest in the next general election or enter parliament through the national list. The statement further claimed that Ranil had decided to retire from politics. However, as soon as this statement was released, the “Mawrata” website published a special report declaring it false, insisting that Ranil had no intention of leaving the UNP leadership or politics.
Despite the scepticism from some, there were voices within the party advocating for a UNP-SJB alliance. Harsha de Silva and Eran Wickramaratne were among those who argued that to succeed in the general election, the SJB should join forces with the UNP. However, Sajith Premadasa, having already concluded that Ranil’s supposed retirement was a ploy, chose not to disrupt the discussions and considered the proposals from different factions.
The idea of uniting with the UNP was first brought up by Harsha during a meeting of SJB seat organizers chaired by Sajith. At the same time, Ruwan Wijayawardene made his statement about Ranil not contesting the election, which was published in Ruwan’s family-owned newspaper, the Daily Mirror. During the SJB meeting, Harsha shared this news with Sajith and the seat organizers. However, “Mawrata” immediately countered, asserting that this was just another manoeuvre by Ranil and that he had no intention of leaving either the party leadership or politics.
Political Negotiations at a Temple
Talks between the United National Party (UNP) and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) began at a prominent temple in Colombo. While temples are typically places for Buddhist religious activities, this particular temple has long been known for political discussions and has connections with both the Rajapaksas and Ranil Wickremesinghe. In these talks, Ruwan Wijayawardene, Laxman Fonseka, Harsha de Silva, and Ranjith Maddumabandara met at the temple. However, SJB leader Sajith Premadasa made it clear that he would only engage with the UNP if Ranil stepped down as party leader.
During a UNP management committee meeting, SJB leaders received repeated calls from Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and Ruwan Wijayawardene. They claimed that Ranil was prepared to resign as leader, with his wife, Maithree Wickramasinghe, also agreeing. However, this information turned out to be false. It was discovered that these claims were part of a strategy to deceive Sajith. In response, the news outlet “Mawrata” published a story confirming that Ranil had no intention of stepping down.
This became evident when senior members of the UNP, including Akila, Ruwan, Rajitha, Sagala, Vajira, and Talatha, met with Ranil to discuss the issue. During a meeting last Thursday, some urged Ranil to step down, but he did not respond favourably. Afterwards, Sagala had a private conversation with Ranil in another room of the house.
End of Negotiations
The “Mawrata” website became a contentious topic during the talks. Vajira showed the group an article from the site, which criticized the UNP for associating with corrupt individuals, and questioned whether they should join forces with such people. This website had also been an issue during the SJB Management Committee meeting. Last Thursday night, another discussion took place at the same temple, with Ruwan, Laxman Fonseka, and Ranjith Maddumabandara attending. Ruwan informed the SJB leaders that Ranil would not be stepping down, as had been reported earlier by “Mawrata.”
Following this, Ruwan requested that Ranjith Maddumabandara meet with Ranil to continue the discussion. Ranjith visited Ranil on Friday morning and urged him to step down. However, Ranil deflected the request, directing Ruwan to answer instead and shifting the conversation. After the meeting, Ranjith reported to Sajith, who concluded that further negotiations with the UNP were pointless.
