Mervyn Pushes for Ranil’s Leadership Amid Media Games
Harin Bankrolls UNP Anniversary in the Shadows
The Political Fallout Behind Namal’s No-Show
Northern Bloc Seeks Common Path in Talks with President
Gamagedara Becomes Mouthpiece for Anti-Sajith Agenda
Marikkar Recasts Opposition’s Path to Coalition Building
Where the UNP has fallen
Last week, through our Inside Politics column, we revealed several details about the 79th anniversary celebrations of the United National Party (UNP). We also examined the hidden objectives behind the event and whether those goals were actually achieved.
In the aftermath, many observers openly remarked that a party which once commanded millions of votes has now been reduced to the point where it cannot even secure 200,000. At the anniversary, defeated leaders—unable to even win a seat in Parliament—were seated in the front rows, while the celebration itself was held at the Monarch Imperial Hotel, a venue that can accommodate around 2,000 people.
Yet, despite its capacity, fewer than 1,600 attendees turned up from across the country.
What made this even more striking was that UNP leaders had gone to great lengths to invite and showcase the two main opposition forces—the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP or “Pohottuwa”)—hoping to boost attendance. That attempt, however, ended in complete failure.
Adding to the picture, of the roughly 1,600 present, a notable portion were supporters from about 40 other opposition parties and organizations.
Mervyn Pushes for Ranil’s Leadership
One of the most striking moments at the recent UNP conference came from former minister Mervyn Silva, who, while out on bail, proposed that the leadership of the opposition alliance now being prepared should be handed over to UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Silva declared that all opposition parties should rally under Wickremesinghe’s command.
However, as we revealed last week, Opposition Leader and SJB chief Sajith Premadasa boycotted the conference. Following that disclosure, Wickremesinghe’s loyal “news-plant gang” swung into action. They pushed reports through friendly outlets claiming that Namal Rajapaksa, the SLPP’s national organizer, would attend the anniversary. To bolster this narrative, the same group widely circulated photos of Wickremesinghe and Namal together at a wedding the previous week, creating the impression of a strong Ranil–Namal connection.
But the carefully staged media campaign fell flat. Namal himself skipped the UNP convention, leaving only SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam to make an appearance on behalf of the Pohottuwa.
Why Did Namal Back Off?
Namal Rajapaksa’s absence from the UNP’s 79th anniversary was no accident. It was damage control. The young Rajapaksa had already burned his fingers once—when he walked into a UNP-organised media conference at a Colombo hotel during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s arrest. That single appearance triggered a storm.
Pohottuwa, which had crawled back from a humiliating 2.5% in the last general election to a respectable 10% in local polls—largely thanks to Namal’s relentless village-to-village campaigning—saw that momentum crumble overnight. Party loyalists accused him of cosying up to a camp that had no grassroots pulse and a track record of repeated election defeats.
Many within his own base told him bluntly: better Sagara than Namal. The backlash was strong enough to make him rethink his political calculations. The result? A cold shoulder to the UNP anniversary stage.
But the UNP wasn’t ready to let go of the optics. In the run-up to the event, it spun a hype campaign, loudly suggesting that Namal would be part of the celebrations—hoping to borrow a dose of his popularity for their struggling brand.
Harin Bankrolls UNP Anniversary
The grand UNP anniversary looked polished on the surface, but its real architect never stepped into the limelight. From securing the Monarch Imperial Hotel to handling logistics and even settling the final bill, the man behind it all was Harin Fernando.
The secrecy wasn’t by accident. With ongoing government probes into former MPs and ministers of the last regime, no one wanted their fingerprints on the UNP’s flagship event. Fear of exposure kept many at bay. Harin, however, took the risk—and the responsibility.
But Colombo’s political grapevine is buzzing. Insiders say the government was tipped off through back channels that Harin, no longer a frontline player, had carried the entire weight of the anniversary on his shoulders. The revelation has only fueled whispers about why Harin would bankroll and orchestrate such an event—and what he hopes to gain from standing in the shadows.
UNP’s Stealth Plan
Behind the celebrations, UNP leaders huddled for a frank post-conference discussion. The empty chairs and Sajith Premadasa’s no-show—choosing instead to dispatch three delegates—sparked concern but also opened new calculations.
The consensus was clear: Mervyn Silva’s dramatic call for an opposition alliance under Ranil Wickremesinghe must be taken beyond the stage and into the grassroots. But the strategy was not to lure SJB MPs directly—too risky, too obvious. Instead, the real target would be the SJB’s village machinery.
The plan? A thousand small meetings across the country under Ranil’s banner, designed to quietly fracture the SJB’s local networks. By drawing in SJB’s own organizers and grassroots members, the UNP hopes to trigger internal rivalries and weaken Sajith’s hold from the bottom up.
The delicate operation has now been handed to Harin Fernando and Vajira Abeywardena. Harin’s task is especially ambitious—pulling not just SJB members, but also Pohottu activists and local organizers into Ranil’s orbit. In short, the battlefield is shifting from Parliament to the villages, where the UNP intends to bleed the SJB from within.
Will Ranil go abroad?
However, although it was said that 1000 village level meetings should be organized under Ranil’s leadership, due to the lack of a good response from the UNP party members so far, that program is now in a state of non-existence rather than being held. Perhaps that is why some media outlets had reported that Ranil was preparing to go abroad for a few weeks to avoid this program.
Vajira and co. did not attend
After the UNP convention, a meeting of opposition party leaders led by Sajith Premadasa was convened at the Opposition Leader’s office on Monday. Notably, there was no representative from the UNP who attended the meeting. In addition, UNP sent messages to others through groups such as Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, who do not have a vote base, not to attend the meeting called by Sajith.
However, the meeting began without UNP representatives and Anura Priyadarshana, many politicians with a voting base, such as the leaders of the opposition representing the parliament, Rauff Hakeem, Gajendra Ponnambalam, Archuna Ramanathan, had arrived at the Opposition Leader’s office to participate. A discussion was held, as usual, on how the opposition should act in the face of the program being carried out by the government. The discussion took place despite the absence of anyone from the UNP.
Two Camps
A key point that emerges from all these events is the complete collapse of the coup operations of the UNP leaders who tried to seize power in the opposition by playing political games behind the scenes. It was noted that two camps are currently being formed within the opposition. One of them is the People’s Alliance, formed under the leadership of Sajith with the participation of political leaders with a popular base in the country, popular with the people and free from corruption charges.
The other camp is the alliance, formed under the leadership of Ranil, with a collection of small groups with corruption charges who have destroyed millions of votes, are incapable of even contesting an election, let alone winning an election. The only outcome of the 79th anniversary of the UNP was the emergence of a clear dividing line between these two groups.
Marikkar Fires
Following the opposition party leaders’ meeting held on Monday morning, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya parliamentary group meeting was held at the opposition leader’s office on the same day evening. A few moments after the group meeting began, it was S.M. Marikkar who started unexpectedly expressing his views. At that time, Marikkar made a very passionate political speech regarding the SJB-UNP alliance and the stance that the SJB should take.
‘Don’t get ready to make these political jokes anymore. This should be stopped now. Whatever problems there were when Ranil was arrested, whatever leg-pulling was done, we forgot all about them and intervened in the fight to get Ranil out. Our leader, Sajith Premadasa, supported it wholeheartedly. He gave the necessary strength to that fight as a party. But now it is over. Now we have to decide with whom the SJB should stand as a party…’
‘We have a reputation that we have made within the SJB. Everyone in the country knows that there are no thieves within the SJB. Therefore, we have to keep our identity and move forward. Should we go and form alliances with those who have been running around here and there and are not even looking at people’s faces? If the UNP wants to form alliances, tell them to come and join us.
Political Jokes
Should we go and sit with them and talk about forming alliances?
What alliances are they going to form?
With whom are they going to form alliances?’
‘I have been travelling the country recently to avoid these things. If we go and try to form alliances with them, people will inevitably reject us, too. Moreover, the leader has clearly said that the SJB and the UNP should join forces, and we can discuss it. In that case, we do not need to go to different places and discuss it’.
As a party, we should take steps to officially conduct those discussions properly according to the position taken by the party….’
As Marikkar continued, Ajith P. Perera and a large number of people also expressed their opinions in accordance with Marikkar’s position. It was clear a vast majority within the SJB parliamentary group think that the alliance talks that are being held in a haphazard and secretive manner should be rejected, and that the alliance should built under the leadership of the SJB and the leadership of the SJB.
The Latest Mud Campaign Exposed
Through our Inside Politics column, we have laid bare the dirty operation launched against Sajith Premadasa while Ranil Wickremesinghe was lying in a hospital bed. The so-called “media assault” was not spontaneous — it was carefully engineered using the Sinhala and English newspapers owned by Ranil’s cousin, Ruwan Wijewardena.
The smear was built on fabricated stories: that Sajith was about to be grilled over using Engineering Corporation staff to renovate Sirikotha during his Housing Ministry days; that the Bribery Commission was summoning him; even that a powerful opposition figure was on the verge of arrest. None of it ever happened. These were outright lies pumped out by Ranil’s personal “News Plant” mafia.
And the dirt didn’t stop at print. Ranil’s camp spread the same poison online through Iraj Weeraratne and Milinda Rajapaksa’s YouTube show Bye Thaksalawa. There, the duo shamelessly peddled the story of a Ranil-Anura “political deal” to crush Sajith at the last presidential election — a deal that, in the end, left Ranil outplayed and humiliated.
What’s clear now is this: every headline, every whisper, every YouTube rant was not journalism but a calculated hit job. A desperate campaign of lies, cooked up by Ranil’s side to smear Sajith and sabotage the opposition.
Something Gamagedara Cooked Up
In recent days, Ranil Wickremesinghe tried to stage yet another smear offensive against Sajith Premadasa — this time through the newspapers controlled by his cousin Ruwan Wijewardena. The objective was clear: rattle Sajith, drag him into the UNP convention, and parade him as if he were still under Ranil’s leash.
But Sajith, now well-seasoned in Ranil’s media manipulations, refused to play the game. He didn’t blink, didn’t answer, didn’t even bother to acknowledge the lies. Instead, he delivered a masterstroke: boycotting the UNP convention entirely and sending only three representatives in his place. With that one move, Sajith burst Ranil’s grand illusion — the dream of showcasing him under the UNP banner collapsed, and the much-hyped convention fell flat on its face.
Cornered and gasping for political oxygen, Ranil’s camp turned to the government for help. On the fourth day, out came Deputy Minister Gamagedara Dissanayake with a conveniently timed “bombshell.” He suddenly claimed that millions had been siphoned off from the Cultural Fund during Sajith’s time as minister, citing a so-called committee report.
The choreography was unmistakable. Government media, hand in glove with Ranil’s propaganda machine, flaming Gamagedara’s statement across every platform. What was billed as “revelation” was nothing more than a desperate lifeline — an attempt to keep Ranil’s crumbling campaign alive through borrowed scandals and manufactured headlines.
Old Mud
The allegation that the Cultural Fund had been misused during Sajith’s tenure was not made yesterday. It was Ranil Wickremesinghe who started making these allegations with the defeat of the 2015 Yahapalana government.
After Sajith was defeated in the 2019 presidential election and Gotabaya Rajapaksa won, Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed as the Minister of Buddhism and Cultural Affairs in that government. It is no secret in politics that Mahinda and Ranil have had a great friendship for a long period.
What Ranil did was to speak to a certain special person who was carrying messages between him and Mahinda and give him several files belonging to the Central Cultural Fund and inform him to hand them over to Mahinda. Ranil had informed the messenger that those files contained information to eliminate Sajith and, accordingly, to inform Mahinda to begin the operation to destroy Sajith’s political career without any delay.
Ranil gives the file to Mahinda
Accordingly, this intermediary took all the relevant files and informed Mahinda that Ranil had informed him to give them to Mahinda and that it contained information to end Sajith’s politics. Accordingly, Mahinda took the relevant file and looked at it and immediately said to the intermediary,
‘Is this man crazy?
Sajith is someone who has a voter base within the country. Whatever personal problems he may have, Sajith’s father is a former president who served this country. Also, how can we say that Sajith stole this money from the Cultural Fund? What this man has done is to help build temples and churches in the country by taking money from the Cultural Fund. So how can that be theft?
I am not going to do this. So if it had been theft, Ranil himself could have done this…’ was what Mahinda’s response.
Gota tried too
However, although Mahinda rejected it, saying that there was no reasonable basis for conducting such investigations, Ranil somehow got in touch with Gotabhaya and appointed a committee to investigate the expenses of the Cultural Fund.
The final report of that committee also failed to find any misuse of the Central Cultural Fund funds. Subsequently, the Criminal Investigation Department took steps to conduct another investigation in this regard. However, it was also not possible to reveal that any misuse of the Cultural Fund funds had occurred during Sajith’s time.
Ranil also tried
After Gotabaya’s fall, Ranil too attempted to drag Sajith into controversy by ordering an investigation through the COPE committee. To strengthen this move, he appointed figures like Mahindananda Aluthgamage to the committee, ensuring Sajith would be targeted relentlessly—even raising the matter in Parliament.
Yet, when the report finally came, COPE could not establish that Sajith had misused funds from the Cultural Fund. A complaint was later filed with the Bribery Commission, but that too fizzled out, as the Commission announced it lacked sufficient evidence to proceed.
Against this backdrop, the Malima government suddenly launched its own probe into the Central Cultural Fund, reinforcing long-standing whispers about backroom dealings between Ranil and the Malima government, as well as Ranil and Harini. Harini herself announced in Parliament that a committee headed by a retired judge had been appointed for the task, while the government media gave wide coverage to the move.
But with the collapse of the UNP conference and Ranil’s standing in ruins, the government made yet another sudden intervention. On Monday the 21st, the state-run Dinamina splashed across its front page a statement by Deputy Minister Gamagedara Dissanayake:
“It has been revealed that over 8,000 million rupees have been misused without the approval of the Central Cultural Fund’s Governing Board. The committee appointed to investigate has disclosed this information.”
Dissanayake further emphasized that once the committee’s final report is in hand, the law will be strictly enforced against those responsible, no matter how high their position.
Ajith challenges
Although Deputy Minister Gamagedara Dissanayake spoke of a “final committee report,” the reality is far different.
As far as we know, the committee has not even begun to properly record evidence on the matter. Not even the statement of the former Ministry Secretary has been taken down.
Therefore, we can state with full responsibility through Inside Politics that no final report has been issued—the inquiry is still at its earliest stage. This has led many to question whether the government’s statement was the result of some deal struck between Ranil and certain figures within the administration.
The following day, SJB’s Ajith P. Perera took the matter head-on in Parliament. He openly challenged Deputy Minister Gamagedara Dissanayake to table such a report immediately, if it truly existed. In a telling moment, the Deputy Minister himself admitted no such report had been issued. Ajith then laid out the truth for all to see, exposing the smear campaign against Sajith.
MP Ajith Perera noted that Deputy Minister Gamagedara Dissanayake had claimed a government-appointed commission uncovered an Rs. 8,000 million fraud in the Cultural Fund—a charge that has been recycled by both the previous and present governments, inside and outside Parliament.
False claim
According to Dissanayake’s own statement, the Cabinet had appointed a three-member committee on July 15, 2025 (Cabinet Paper No. A.M.P./25/1154/802/018) to probe irregularities in the Central Cultural Fund’s financial assistance to religious institutions between 2007 and 2020.
Ajith reminded the House that the committee was required to submit its report within two months and challenged it to do so without delay. Failure to meet this obligation, he stressed, would itself be a breach of the parliamentary code of conduct. He also pointed out that a separate inquiry—headed by High Court Judge Wasantha Jinadasa—had already reported on the matter, clearly stating that those not guilty of wrongdoing must not be falsely accused.
Ajith further recalled that earlier probes—by the Gamini Sarath Edirisinghe, Gotabaya Jayaratne, and Harigupta Rohanadheera committees—had also found no evidence of fraud or personal misconduct. Even the Bribery Commission, after reviewing the issue, closed the case on November 11, 2022, citing insufficient grounds for action under the Bribery Act.
“After committee upon committee, not a single finding of wrongdoing has been made,” Ajith declared. “Therefore, as a responsible Deputy Minister, Mr. Dissanayake must either present the committee’s report to Parliament or, if he cannot, apologize to the House.”
Compass Assets
According to the new Assets and Liabilities Act, the assets of all MPs and senior officials have been made public, and the political arena was on fire last week with the assets of several key MPs of the Compass government becoming public.
With the revelation that Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe has assets worth Rs. 270 million, the opposition launched a strong attack, saying that Minister Wasantha should immediately tell the country about the acquisition of such assets. The opposition also stated that he should also tell the country about the existence of ‘cryptocurrency’.
Since the debate that began last week regarding the assets of Compass MPs had become heated, the President had taken steps to hold a special discussion on the matter before leaving for the United States. There was a discussion on how to respond to this accusation raised by the opposition.
Many people had said that even if the opposition raised the accusation, the government should not respond to it. Otherwise, if there is a problem with the assets, they should complain to the relevant authorities to resolve the problem.
Handunnetti was cornered
The first investigation was held on the Derana 360 program. Minister of Industries Sunil Handunnetti was present that day. At one point, when journalist Kalindu Karunaratne, who runs 360, began questioning Handunnetti regarding his assets, Handunnetti avoided answering and continued to say that if Kalindu had a problem in this regard, he should complain to the Bribery Commission or the relevant authorities. However, Handunnetti, who was somewhat angry when Kalindu continued to question him on the matter, firmly stated that he would not respond.
Accordingly, the government’s decision not to respond to the assets issue was strongly opposed by social media and the opposition, the first time it was investigated. Many people had said that Handunnetti had evaded the question.
Anura’s budget trump cards
The government presented the budget for the year 2026 to Parliament last Friday. During a long discussion held within the government regarding this year’s budget, the heads of the government, led by the President had decided to take a special decision.
That is, not to impose any additional taxes on the people in this year’s budget. In addition to this trump card, the ‘inside politics’ column has heard that the government is currently preparing to play another trump card in this year’s budget is, for the first time, this budget has succeeded in significantly reducing the budget deficit.
It is not known whether the government has reduced the budget deficit because of reducing unnecessary expenses, not spending, because capital expenditures have been reduced, or because development activities have not yet begun.
Also, during the discussion held within the government regarding the budget, the government has taken another special decision.
That decision is to close down nearly 40 more state institutions that are not operational and are making losses. The government has already taken steps to close down nearly 30 state institutions that are making losses and are not operational. Although the cabinet paper related to the closure of these 40 new institutions was scheduled to be presented to the cabinet two weeks ago, for some reason, it was not presented that day. However, the information we have indicates that the government is preparing to pass the cabinet paper to close down these 40 institutions before the budget is finally passed. It is also reported that the government has planned to close down institutions belonging to certain fields and establish only one consultancy institute.
North prepares to meet Anura
Last week, we revealed to the country details of a face-to-face discussion between Mr. Shanakyan Rasamanikkam of the Tamil National Alliance and the President in the ‘inside politics’ column. We mentioned that several issues, including holding provincial council elections and resolving the problems in the North and East were discussed there. However, we also mentioned that this discussion was not at the party level, but at a personal level.
However, Mr Anura Kumara Dissanayake had visited Jaffna on several occasions during the presidential election and made several promises regarding presenting a new constitution, abolishing the executive presidency system, holding provincial council elections, and resolving the political problem in the North and East.
In response, the people of the North were also seen queuing up to vote in Anura. Accordingly, the main Tamil party in the North, the Tamil Arasu Katchi Party, had taken steps to meet the President for the first time in December, 3 months after the President came to power. Since the President had just come to power, no decisions were made regarding the issues of the North during that discussion.
Meanwhile, a political crisis was brewing within the Tamil Arasu Katchi Party, and two groups were being formed. Party leader Sridharan represented one group, while the other party was represented by General Secretary Sumanthiran and a group including Rasamanikkam. Accordingly, Sridharan had requested time from the President for a meeting in the past.
Sridharan meets
Giving reasons for this, Sridharan had pointed out to the President that time was needed to discuss the flood situation in the North. Although the President granted time to the Tamil Arasu Katchi Party, until the discussion began, Rasamanikkam and the other group did not know that the discussion had been given only to discuss the flood issue.
They went prepared to discuss the Tamil issue in the North and the EastTNA and the holding of the Provincial Council elections. However, since the discussion was initially focused on the flood issue, Rasamanikkam and other members of the Tamil Arasu Party did not discuss political issues at that time. After that, no official discussion was held between the President and the Tamil Arasu Katchi Party for a year.
The Tamil Arasu Katchi Party had not even requested an appointment from the President, and the President had not even invited the Tamil Arasu Katchi Party to come for the discussion.
TNA decides
Against this backdrop, the Central Committee of the Tamil Arasu Katchi Party met in Ampara on Sunday, the 14th. The discussion there was that since it had been a year since the official meeting with the President, it was necessary to meet the President again to discuss the issue of the North. Accordingly, the Central Committee of the Tamil Arasu Katchi Party decided to make a written request to the President for an appointment to meet him again.
Since MP Sridharan went last time and discussed only the flood issue, this time it was decided that the entire group of MPs, including party General Secretary Sumanthiran, led by the Chairman of the Northern Provincial Council, Mr. V.K. Sivagnanam, would go and meet the President to discuss the issues in the North and the Provincial Council elections. Accordingly, the Tamil Arasu Katchi Party had taken steps to send the relevant letter to the President last Sunday.
