After 17 years, in 1994, Chandrika chanted the mantra of corruption and terror to bring the SLFP back to power. She rallied the people against 17 years of corruption and terror. At that time, she was careful not to include anyone who had connections to the 17-year UNP government in her UPFA alliance, which would damage her mantra. UNP Provincial Councilor Sanath Gunathilaka and UNP Deputy Speaker Gamini Fonseka were brought into her alliance because of their star qualities. But ‘Ravaya’ editor Victor Ivan, who played a major role in bringing her to the leadership of the SLFP, accused Gamini and Sanath of damaging Chandrika’s political purity or virginity by bringing them to the UPFA platform. He said that both of them were directly or indirectly involved in 17 years of corruption and terror. But Chandrika thought that she could use their popularity to attract the people.
When she came to power in 1994, she set up sixty-seven presidential commissions to investigate corruption and terror in the UNP government. She set up commissions to investigate the corruption of Wijayapala Mendis, a former powerful minister in the UNP government, and to investigate the murder of schoolchildren in Sooriyakanda, Embilipitiya.
As soon as Chandrika came to the political scene, she found the burial place of the murdered schoolchildren in Sooriyakanda and sold the bones of those children. With the political performance she secretly went to Sooriyakanda, D.B. Wijethunga’s UNP government was left speechless.
No matter what show Chandrika put on, she did not get the 94 parliamentary majority of 113. She made 113 by winning over Ashraf and Chandrasekaran’s MPs. That is why she was trying to weaken the UNP in the opposition by taking away UNP MPs. Even at that time, the independent civil society organizations that brought her to power said that the MPs who had participated in the 17 years of UNP corruption and terror should not be included in the government and the government should not lose its virginity.
Intoxicated with power, she won a number of UNP MPs into the government when the 1999 presidential election was approaching. One of them was Wijayapala Mendis. Her government was preparing to abolish his civic rights by bringing a presidential commission to prove the corruption charges against Wijayapala and bring a parliamentary resolution against him. Her government had also accused Wijayapala of running torture chambers to suppress the JVP. Forgetting all these allegations, she took Wijayapala into the government without hesitation.
She also took Nanda Mathew, a former powerful minister of Ratnapura district, who was one of the people accused of the Suriyakanda tragedy that shook the country, into the government, stripping him of the corruption and terror used in the drama that brought her to power. That is where her government lost its political virginity. If it were not for Prabhakaran’s pity bomb, she would have been defeated.
Similarly, Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power in 2005 against Ranil’s ceasefire agreement, which was about to bring together patriotic forces and betray the country. The people won Mahinda because Mahinda and the JVP were able to convince the people that Ranil would write to Prabhakaran in the North-East. Mahinda, respecting the mandate of the people who brought him to power, threw the ceasefire in the trash and killed Prabhakaran, ending the war. Even though former army commander Sarath Fonseka, who played a major role in ending the war, contested the presidential election against Mahinda, the people believed that the people would vote for Mahinda because Mahinda would win the war. But they did not forget Fonseka’s role. They thought that Fonseka had gone astray.
Not understanding this, Mahinda made false accusations against Fonseka, whom he had defeated, and put him in jail.
Mahinda came to power in 2005 as a patriot. His slogan was patriotism. He turned that slogan into reality and said that the traitors were winning the war and dividing the country. He said that there were patriots with him and there were traitors in the opposition.
Even though Fonseka contested the presidential election against him, people did not accept Fonseka as a traitor. People accepted the labeling of the opposition as a traitor. The reason was because the opposition was against the war. But people did not approve of imprisoning Fonseka, who had played a major role in winning the war.
That is where Mahinda lost his political virginity. Mahinda built his political image on patriotism. People did not approve of imprisoning Fonseka, who was a hero in the patriotic camp. That is where Mahinda was politically undressed.
Like Chandrika in 1994 and Mahinda in 2005, the JVP came to power in 2024 against thieves. The main opponent of the JVP in the fight against thieves is the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. The reason is that unlike the JVP, they have no one who has served as President or Prime Minister in a government. When they brought together the former powerful ministers of the SLPP, the JVP said that they would not bring together anyone who was a part of the 73-year curse. They also said that they would not bring together minority parties that are auctioning votes. People were fascinated by this theory of the JVP. When the JVP said that there are no political scoundrels who jump here and there in the JVP, people cheered with joy. When the JVP said that there are no deals in its politics, people whistled. But after the 2025 LG election, not only independent groups have started seeking support to establish power in local government institutions where the JVP has lost its majority, but also the party of Dilith Jayaweera, whom were JVP called as an antigen thief. Lalkantha says there is nothing wrong with making political deals to establish power in local government institutions. Most of the independent groups that are discussing to establish power in local government institutions with the JVP are former urban councilors of the SLFP.
‘Did the JVP open a saloon door like Mahinda?’
It is too early to say so. But like Chandrika and Mahinda, the JVP will lose its political virginity from there. If that happens, the JVP’s ‘nothing with thieves’ rhetoric shown in 2024 will definitely have to be changed to ‘nothing without thieves’ in 2025.
