Mahinda’s lucky number is 8. The presidential election in which Mahinda became the president of Sri Lanka was held on November 17, 2005. 17 is 8 when 1+7 is added. Mahinda’s 2010 presidential election was held on January 26. 26 is 8 when 2+6 are added. Mahinda 2010 general election was held on April 8, 2010. Mahinda will win all these elections.
But Mahinda lost the 2015 presidential election on January 8. After that, Mahinda never got the chance to face a vote on Mahinda’s lucky day. But Mahinda’s unluckiest day was the 8th. That is May 8, 2022. Mahinda lost his prime minister ship and had to run away from ‘Araliyagaha Mandiraya’ to save his life on May 8. It is only one year to that May 08 to this May 8. Sources from the Wijerama side say that Mahinda is trying to make this May 08 a lucky day once again
‘Does that mean…?’
Does that mean Mahinda will give a try to become Prime Minister again on this May 08?
‘Will Ranil make Mahinda the prime minister…?’
There is a treasured disease of successors to the presidency or Prime Minister Ship of Sri Lanka. That disease is the fear and hatred of the leader and his followers who were either killed or deposed.
Dahanayake is the first successor prime minister of Sri Lanka. He became the Prime Minister after the assassination of Bandaranaike in 1959. Dahanayake got the prime minister ship by accident. The prime minister should have been C.P. De Silva. He fell ill and went to London for treatment before Bandaranaike’s assassination. That’s where Dahanayake got the winning chance. The first thing Dahanayake did when he became Prime Minister was to attack Bandaranaike’s colleagues who had helped make him Prime Minister.
Also, he cornered the Bandaranaike family; put the Bandaranaike assassination investigation under the carpet. He made ministers those MPs who were suspected of the murder. Most of the ministerial posts under him were arch enemies of Bandaranaike when he was alive. Dahanayake cornered Bandaranaike’s friends and took in Bandaranaike’s enemies.
Finally, one of Bandaranaike’s closest colleagues, T.B. Ilangaratne also was expelled from as a minister. On the other hand, on the day of the inauguration of the Horagolla Bandaranaike Samadhi, he put barbed wire around the Samadhi and posted police battalions. He was afraid of the Bandaranaikes and their followers. He suspected every second that they were conspiring against him. He thought he was more popular than Bandaranaike. He finally lost in the March 1960 general election.
The next successor was D.B. Wijetunga. He became president after Premadasa was assassinated. Premadasa trusted him strongly and when Premadasa became president, he asked him to resign from the position of central province governor, put him in the parliamentary election and gave him the post of prime minister. The first thing Wijetunga, did when he became president after Premadasa’s murder was what Dahanayake did. That is to attack the Premadas loyalists and the Premadasa family. He not only removed Premadasa’s closest ally Sirisena Cooray as the party secretary but also pointed out the connection between him and the underworld Sotti Upalila and brought charges of terror against Cooray.
He left Cooray completely helpless. He also made allegations against the Premadasa family. Another ally of Premadasa, Ratnasiri Rajapaksa he tricked to remove him from the post of mayor. Like Dahanayake, Wijetunga was afraid of Premadasa and his followers. He thought they were conspiring against him. He thought he was more popular than Premadasa. He took Premadasa’s arch enemies Anura, Roni and Gamini into the government. Made them to attack Premadasas. His closest advisers were the anti-Premadasa. Everyone thought he would become president again.
But he got lost in politics and became an orphan. From the day he became president, he also performed shows to form national governments. Bandaranaike’s crown prince Anura was the ancestor of the Senanayakes. Finally he lost the government. The lost the presidency, also lost the Party leadership. The party also disappeared.
Sri Lanka’s third successor is Ranil Wickramasinghe. Unlike Dahanayake and Wijetunga, the successor crown prince Rukman Senanayake decided to split the SLFP and form a national government because the head of state was not assassinated but the head of state abandoned the leadership of the state.
Dahanayake succeeded Bankdaranayaka as the second-in-command elected by voters was MP C.P. De Silva, and next to him was elected member Dahanayaka. Wijetunga was elected President by popular vote, and he became Prime Minister with the consent of the majority of Parliament. Dahanayake was a Sri Lankan leader who served as Bandaranaike’s representative.
Wijetunga UNP leader represented Premadasa. But Ranil is not an elected MP. He is not a member of the Podujana Peramuna that came to power in 2019. More than that, Ranil is a candidate who lost the public vote. The Rajapaksas made Ranil the Prime Minister and President saying that he would protect himself and his followers/
But the Rajapaksas must not have thought that Ranil would also suffer from the disease that Dahanayake and Wijetunga suffered. Even if Ranil protects the Rajapaksas and the followers of the Rajapaksas and suppresses the allegations against them, they will not be allowed to rise in politics. The reason is the fear that they will plot against him as Dahanayake and Wijetunga thought. Ranil does not give ministries to Rajapaksas or his followers because of their fear.
Ranil fears that they will take away the presidency from him just as they made him the Prime Minister and made him the President. Although they cannot snatch the presidency, he is afraid that his wings will be cut and he will be made a prisoner in the presidential palace. Ranil thinks that he is now more popular than the Rajapaksas as Dahanayake and Wijetunga thought. When this disease spreads, it is natural to become wild in politics. Now Ranil sees Rajapaksa and his followers as enemies.
If Dahanayake took the followers of Bandaranaike into confidence and punished Bandaranaike’s killers and became the defender of the Sri Lankan Freedom Party, the first female Prime Minister of the world would not have emerged from the Sri Lankan Freedom Party. If that was the case, Dahanayake could have become the Prime Minister in the March 1960 election itself.
If Wijetunga had taken Premadasa’s followers into confidence and defended Premadasa’s principles, in 1994 the U.N.P. would not have lost. Then in 1994, President Wijetunga. He is president by popular mandate. His biggest mistake was removing Sirisena Cooray, who was the vote machine of the party, and appointing Dr. Wijesekera, who has no knowledge of party machinery, as his secretary.
Even though there was a lot of opposition to Premadasa in the country, the U.N.P. won all the other provincial councils except the western and southern ones. It showed that even though Premadasa died, the village was with Premadasa. Chandrika would not have become president if wijetunga had gone to the polls by keeping Premadasa’s policies and highlighting wijetunga democracy.
Does that mean the same thing will happen to Ranil, what happened to Dahanayake and Wijetunga…?’
I don’t know what Mahinda’s lucky 8 will bring. In any case, the end of the successors in Sri Lanka has been a sad one.
