Pohottuwa is unlikely to ascend to the presidency without a Rajapakse.
The JVP’s silence suggests concurrence with the IMF!
What intrigues are unfolding in Uganda!
Uncertainty surrounding the minority vote may compel Ranil to withdraw!
Aliraja’s stunts
Aliraja Subhaskaran has become a prominent figure in Sri Lanka’s political landscape, particularly during President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visits. In the past, he faced controversy for allegedly funding the war on behalf of the Tamil diaspora and being associated with the LTTE and its leader, Velupilla Prabhakaran. Accusations were made that he invested the organization’s money internationally. During this period, political figures like Wimal Weerawansa highlighted his connection with the LTTE in daily press briefings.
However, despite being a ‘persona non grata’ in Sri Lanka for some time, Aliraja Subhaskaran has surprisingly developed a close association with the President. Recent reports even suggest that he is considering running as the northern candidate in the upcoming presidential election, however, later reports suggest this was not to be so. Additionally, there are speculations about his interest in acquiring Lanka Hospital and possibly the Telecom Company, significant assets in the country.
Aliraja’s Motives
The sudden emergence of Aliraja Subhaskaran in Sri Lanka’s political discussions prompts questions about his motives. Past instances reveal a pattern where individuals from the Tamil diaspora are brought to Sri Lanka by newly elected presidents to advocate for diaspora funds to be invested in the country. Gotabaya Rajapakse too said a Nimalan Wishwanadan a diaspora person could fund a substantial amount of the country’s debts. However, these efforts often result in empty promises, with no substantial investments materializing.
Notably, there were reports of a secret meeting between President Ranil Wickramasinghe and Aliraja Subhaskaran during the president’s visit to Britain. This was alleged to have been organized by a cousin of President Ruwan Wijewardana through a female friend of his. Subsequently, it is alleged that Aliraja stayed in Jaffna during the President’s recent visit before he departed for Switzerland, suggesting a possible connection between the two despite no pictures were out with the duo together.
Aliraja in Uganda
The latest development involves information about Aliraja Subhaskaran’s planned visit to Uganda, coinciding with the President’s trip. Sri Lankan ambassador Velupilla Kananathan, a close associate of the Rajapaksa family, is reportedly facilitating this visit. Kananathan aims to organize a meeting between the President and Aliraja Subhaskaran during their time in Uganda.
Intriguingly, despite the lack of photographic evidence, there are indications of meetings and discussions between the President and Aliraja Subhaskaran, raising questions about their relationship and shared objectives. Rumours and speculations in the political sphere suggest that Aliraja Subhaskaran is involved in a significant political project behind the scenes, likely connected to the upcoming presidential election. The true nature of this project remains the subject of ongoing investigation and speculation that the ‘Inside Politics’ column would dig out.
Aliraja’s plan
Generally, the number of votes in the North is considered a very decisive factor in a presidential election. Apart from the votes in the South, the winner of the presidential election is mostly determined by these votes in the North. Accordingly, Aliraja Subhaskaran plans to become the arbiter of this constituency in the North. For some time the arbiter of this polling block was none other than Velupillai Prabhakaran. The people of the north should vote for the southern candidate preferred by Prabhakaran.
Accordingly, to become the arbiter of the people of the North, it has been seen that Aliraja Subhaskaran has launched many projects targeting the North. Generally, the biggest dream of young people in the north is to get a job in Europe or Canada. Accordingly, in one of the propaganda carried by Aliraja Subhaskaran in the North these days, it is said that if he is good with himself, he can be allowed to go to a foreign job or travel abroad. Another opinion that is being developed among the poor people of the north says that the helpless poor can take any help from Aliraja Subhaskaran. In this way, Aliraja Subhaskaran is currently engaged in a mission to develop his image in the north by identifying the weaknesses of the Tamil people.
Is Aliraja Subhaskaran preparing to contest for election from the north? According to the information we have, Aliraja Subhaskaran is not preparing to run for the presidential election but is engaged in the operation to win the vote for the candidate from the south who is recommended by him. Accordingly, Aliraja Subhaskaran has planned to spend a huge amount of money to produce a series of films based on North-South. Aliraja Subhaskaran has been associated with the Tamil Nadu film industry for the past few years and many Tamil Nadu actors and actresses have developed close friendships with him. Also, Aliraja Subhaskaran plans to gather a group of well-known and popular actors and actresses around him by spending money on film production in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, looking at all these events, it is not difficult to get some guess about the reason why Aliraja Subhaskaran appears from the places where the President goes.
Ranil’s plan?
It is a fact that the President is well aware that he will not get the support of the Tamil National Alliance, the main party in the North, in this year’s presidential election. Also, the President know that there is no benefit in taking the support of other parties in the north apart from the Tamil National Alliance. Accordingly, many people are raising doubts about whether the president is launching a plan to suppress votes in the north through a character like Aliraja Subhaskaran. Many people think that Aliraja Subhaskaran also knows this game and is playing the way it needs to be played.
Chandrika also willing
Recent news was that Aliraja Subhaskaran has planned to make a film on Vijaya Kumaratungayan, Sri Lanka’s most iconic film star. The film is also titled as ‘Vijaya’. Popular actor Ranjan Ramanayake, a relative of Vijaya, has been selected to play the role of Vijaya. It is learned that Vijaya’s wife, Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga, has given her permission to produce this film. According to that, many people say that there is a plan to screen this ‘Vijaya’ movie closer to the presidential election. It is also said that the underlying plan is to launch a political attack on the Janata Vimukti Peramuna through that. One of the biggest accusations levelled at JVP in the past was the allegation that Vijaya Kumaratunga was killed by JVP. Chandrika had stated this several times in public as well as in private. According to this, many people have doubts about whether the film ‘Vijaya’, which is being made through Aliraja Subhaskaran, is part of a political operation to be launched targeting the presidential election.
Candidate Gajendra
Apart from this, it is understood that government fractions are planning to implement two plans through Aliraja Subhaskaran targeting the northern constituency. One of them is to make a declaration through Aliraja Subhaskaran to vote for Ranil directly in the presidential election. The second has been to field a separate Tamil candidate from the North in the presidential election if the first strategy fails. The ‘inside politics’ column has information that a candidate is proposed for that. That candidate is none other than Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam. Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam is the son of Kumar Ponnambalam, a prominent political figure in the North. Or G.G’s grandson. It is known that if there is a situation where the votes of the North do not go to Ranil, the aim of this is to prevent those votes from falling to another candidate in the South through Gajendra Kumar.
In general, presidential elections history shows that the votes in the north are often cast to the UNP, if not, to the candidate presented by the UNP. But under the current situation, Sajith Premadasa, the leader of Samagi Jana Balavegaya, has emerged as the probable candidate who would poll majority votes from the North.
The reason for this is that almost all the leaders of the minor parties in the south are with Sajith, and there is a close relationship with the main party in the north, the Tamil National Alliance and Sajith. If Ranil contests in the upcoming presidential election, the biggest challenge and threat to him is that the northern votes will be cast for Sajith. In such a case, it is seen that this group plans to appoint a figure like Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam as the candidate from the North and divide a certain percentage of the votes falling to Sajith.
It is for this reason that many people are raising doubts about whether it is because of this operation that a person like Aliraja Subhaskaran is to get a huge profitable resource like telecom. However, whether an environment will be prepared for Aliraja Subhaskaran to buy the telecom company as planned is now a serious question. That is Mukesh Ambani of the Ambani Group, which owns one of the main business networks in India, has placed a bid to buy the telecom company. However, through all these events, it is very clear that Aliraja Subhaskaran is engaged in a program to make Ranil Wickramasinghe the president again.
The new leader of TNA
Meanwhile, the new leader of the TNA will be chosen on Sunday (21). Due to the current leader Mr R. Sambandan’s ill health, the party has planned to elect a new leader through a poll based on the demands made for a long time that a new leader should be appointed. For that, 325 people will have the opportunity to vote, and M.A. Sumanthiran, S. Sridharan and S. Yogeswaran are scheduled to compete for it. Many say that Sumanthiran will have the advantage over others.
However, many people have expressed the opinion that if a weak person is appointed for the leadership of the Tamil Alliance, the operations launched by Aliraja Subhaskaran in the North can be successful, so it has been seen that various measures are being launched behind the scenes. As Sumanthiran is at the forefront of the election battle for the leadership, a very close friend of Sumanthiran made a phone call last week and inquired in this regard this. The friend first asked Sumanthiran, ‘Don’t you think that a lot of money is being pumped into these 325 people to defeat you?’ Sumantharan laughed and said, ‘Yes, I know that. There is such a thing. But I don’t think that my members will vote for that money. I am sure that this throwing money will be a crime.’
After that, this friend asked Sumanthiran another strange question. He asked, ‘Ranil is playing a hard game to defeat Sumanthiran, isn’t he?’ Sumanthiran replied with a smile.
Ranil is very friendly to me. I know he plays the game smiling and talking. But I don’t know if he will do such a thing’ was Sumanthiran’s answer.
The Muslim vote crisis
When this kind of situation has arisen for Ranil regarding the Tamil elections in the North, he is faced with another problem that is Muslim votes which numbering several lakhs that were in Ranil’s hands so far, or else in Ranil’s pocket. So far, the Muslim votes have been favourable to Ranil, but with one decision made by Ranil recently, it has all turned upside down. It was the decision to send a navy ship to fight against the ‘Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Here, right or wrong, the whole world is on one side of the Palestinian Muslim people in the Israeli-Palestinian war. The Muslim people are also of the opinion that genocide is taking place in the Gaza Strip. But after the decision to send a ship to attack the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, to the surprise of all these people, it can be seen that the Muslim people of this country are in strong opposition and great disappointment with the President and the government.
What Sabri said
Before leaving for Switzerland, the President, who had realized that such a situation could arise based on the decision to send a ship to the Red Sea, had taken steps to discuss this at length with the Foreign Minister Ali Sabri and his friendly pro-Muslim ministers as well as a group of Muslim lawyers. According to the information we have, the President has pointed out two adverse consequences that may occur if Ali Sabri makes such a decision. The first of these is that if the Houthi rebels attack a cargo ship coming to Sri Lanka based on sending such a ship, it will hurt Sri Lanka’s economy. The second is that the decision will face serious opposition from the Muslim community.
President did not take Sabri’s warning lightly. Because of this, the President took steps to hold several rounds of negotiations with several groups friendly to him to save him. As a first step, the President called all the ambassadors of the Middle East and took steps to hold a special discussion to appease the possible opposition to the government from Muslim countries. From the information we have there, it is said that this attempt by the President has failed. It has been learned that the ambassadors of the Middle East have protested this proposal in a way that the president did not expect at all, and even though the president said that he is ready to provide a school to the Gaza Strip after the conflicts, the news that the president did not get the response he expected from the ambassadors, and their opposition increased further.
Accordingly, it did not take long for the president to realize that the situation was serious. That is why, after taking the relevant decision, the president took steps to hold many more rounds of discussions with the pro-Muslim ministers regarding how the Muslim community should be balanced. The President’s opinion was that the Muslim community should be convinced that this decision was taken to uplift the country’s economy at a time when it had collapsed.
Although it is a difficult task, the President asked all of them to make that effort at this moment. The reason for this is that if it is not possible to succeed, the president realizes that there are signs that his presidential dream will be blurred based on the problem of the Muslim community.
How is the plantation?
What is the status of the plantation favourable to the UNP when such a situation has arisen regarding the Tamil and Muslim votes in the upcoming presidential election? Generally, in any election, plantation votes were used in favour of the UNP. About ten to twelve years ago, the UNP won the plantation districts with a margin of more than 100,000 votes. But now that situation has completely changed. Today, the favourable position of the UNP in the plantation is completely owned by the Samagi Jana Balawega.
Because of this, the president had recently launched many operations to win Mr. Digambaram, who was a strongman of plantations, to his side. But all that failed because Digambaram was adamant that he would continue to be with Sajith and SJB. Later, the President took steps to strengthen Vadivel Suresh, who ran for the election in SJB, by giving him the district chairmanship in Badulla, and opening offices. Also, the President is engaged in an operation to collect Thondaman and Vadivel, who were the strongmen of the plantation. The reason for this is that the power of the Thondamans in the plantation is rapidly collapsing. But the ‘Inside politics’ column has learned that the President’s efforts have not been successful.
Apart from this, the next operation that the president is ready to launch is to grab the plantation’s vote to give 10 perches of land to the people of the plantations. The purpose of this plan of the President is to give these lands to the people through Thondaman and Vadivel strengthen them in plantations and gain that advantage during the presidential election. Accordingly, the President has announced the dates for the launch of the first part of this program. But it has also become a very difficult target due to the lack of government land needed to provide for this purpose. It is also reported that the distribution of land to the plantation people has become a difficult goal because such large lands are owned by private owners and they are unwilling to release them.
With 51%, can win
In this way, why is the president working so hard on the Tamil votes in the north, the Muslim votes and the Tamil votes in the plantations? We were able to find out the reason through a discussion held with a very close and well-known businessman who came to meet the President a few days ago. While chatting with the president, this well-known businessman suddenly asked, ‘Have you decided to come to the presidential election now?’ Ranil laughed and replied, ‘I still have a question about that.’ Then, when the businessman asked the President what was the problem, the President said, ‘No Dhammika Perera had said that he would come to the presidential election only if he could get 51%. I have the same problem.’ Then the businessman asked the President again, ‘Does that mean if no 51% not coming?’ The President replied not with words, but with his usual smile.
We published this short conversation on ‘Inside Politics’ not for anything else, but to understand the big message contained in this conversation. We have been saying from the beginning that the President is looking at five things until the last moment to decide on whether or not to run for the next presidential election. We also said that the President is leaning towards the non-contesting side. Because the reason for this is the belief that the president will not act to end politics after unexpectedly becoming the president and his last term, losing a vote and being ostracized even from the international community.
Two opinion polls
On the other hand, the President has entrusted two extremely independent institutions to carry out two opinion polls regarding the results of the presidential election covering the entire country. We cannot tell you any information about any one of them at the moment, but we can only say that it is officially being done through a network spread across the country in a very secret manner. It should be mentioned here that we know all the information about the other group conducting the opinion poll, but because they may have some problems, we will not reveal the information about it at this time. But we also have information about what samples they have selected there, what questions they are given etc. The President hopes to receive the results of these two referendums in the last week of March or the beginning of April. Through this, it is also clear that the President is still on the fence thinking about whether he can contest the presidential election and win. According to the information we have, the president has not yet made a final decision regarding running for the presidential election, no matter how many people around the president are jumping up and down saying that the president is contesting.
Dhammika suppressed
Under such a background, the millionaire businessman MP Dhammika Perera rose rapidly as the candidate from the government with the blessing of the pot. With Dhammika’s presentation, a kind of awakening could be seen in the bud. Especially due to being a recognized businessman in the country and having a certain vision about the economy, it was seen how the ministers of Pohottuve worked closely with Dhammika.
But as of last week, Dhammika suddenly disappeared from the political arena. Although he used to make political statements before the media, as of last week, no political information from Dhammika was reported through the media. Accordingly, many people said that Dhammika has decided to withdraw from the presidential race. Accordingly, during our investigation, we discovered that Dhammika has temporarily withdrawn from the presidential race. The reason for this is the sudden campaign by the government that the president will contest the next presidential election. Accordingly, Dhammika can be seen to be temporarily retreating strategically at this moment. However, despite being temporarily away from political affairs, Dhammika continued his D.P computer program. Last week, it was seen that the program of teaching information technology to students has been accelerated through the Education Institute. Because Pohottuwa or the UNP has not yet nominated a candidate for the presidential election battle, Dhammika may be delaying this strategy with the possibility of appearing at the last moment.
Basil give time
Meanwhile, Basil, who is in Los Angeles, USA, had emphasized in several Zoom discussions held with Pohottu leaders last week that the president should be given time until the end of March to make a firm statement regarding his candidacy for the presidential election. Officially, if the President does not give a firm word on the matter by the end of March, it is known that Basil is planning to present a candidate from Pohottuwa.
Chung’s story
The biggest rumour that spread in the political arena last week was the news that the American ambassador, Mrs Julie Chung, met the government and opposition politicians and suggested that Ranil, Sajith and Mahinda should join. The news further said that if not, she had warned that JVP would win the next elections and the country would become North Korea. It is also special that this news was given a lot of publicity by the campaigners from the side of the President. The news further said that after these discussions, the President decided to send a Navy ship against the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
We took steps to find out whether this story was true or not. Chang had taken steps to meet and hold a discussion with the President before he went abroad. Also, Chung has met with Professor G.L Pieris who is overseas these days. In the discussion, there had not been any discussion of Ranil and Sajith alliance, but Chung made a special point and emphasized if there is no difference between Ranils and Sajith’s economic policies that is of no use.
We had also emphasized this earlier in this column. We said there that if the public works to implement the President’s oppressive economic policy, the people will not accept it. However, the opposition leader Sajith also emphasized in a discussion held in the party that the economic policy of SJB should be different from the economic policy of the government, and unlike the government, it should consider the people humanely and follow a pro-people economic policy.
In addition, Chung also discussed with former President Maithripala Sirisena last week. It is also heard that she told Maitri that everyone should work together there. Unofficial sources mention that Mr. Dhammika Perera, who is ready to run as the presidential candidate in Pohottuwa, has also met Chung and held discussions.
However, when this rumour was spreading like this, Sajith took steps to make a special statement last week. That means that a Sajith-Ranil alliance will not be formed at all.
Chung Leaves
In this way, there is a special point behind Chung meeting all political party representatives. That, if nothing else, is because Chung’s term of office will end within the next few weeks and she will be leaving for America again. For this reason, in the past few days, the US State Department has taken steps to conduct interviews to select the new ambassador to Sri Lanka. According to the information we have, the US has already chosen the new ambassador to Sri Lanka.
Amid all these uproars, the opposition leader Sajith started a series of programs to strengthen society at the district level last week. Its opening ceremony was held in Matara. Accordingly, Sajith called all the members of parliament to Matara and stayed there for three days to start party reorganization activities.
IMF-Sajith meeting
Last week, a team headed by Mr. Peter Brewer of the International Monetary Fund came to Sri Lanka and held several rounds of talks with the government and the opposition. In a press release regarding the discussions held with the government, the Presidential Media Unit had pointed out that Sri Lanka’s IMF its head Mr. Brewer had given a satisfactory response regarding the implementation of the program.
However, after that Brewer and IMF. The group came to the opposition leader’s office to meet Mr. Sajith Premadasa. Sajith did not participate in the discussion alone, but was accompanied by economic experts Harsha de Silva, Kabir Hashim, Iran Wickramaratne and Dr. Nalaka Godahewada. Apart from this, Sajith added another special person to his team. It is none other than Sujeewa Senasinghe, who served as the Minister of State for Investment Promotion in the Good Governance Government. Sajith had taken steps to include Sujeewa in the discussion because he was currently involved with SJB.
Sajith’s condition
However, when Peter Brewer came to Sri Lanka last time, Sajith was holding a press conference with the IMF, which included taxing the people adversely and unfairly. A statement was issued that the conditions will be revised. When the media later asked Peter Brewer about this, he also said that if necessary, the clauses could be changed through discussion. But there was no discussion between Brewer and Sajith.
However, this time in the discussion between Brewer and Sajith, Sajith said to Brewer that as soon as an SJB government came, he said that he will take steps to change the agreement of the IMF. After Sajith directly stated this, Brewer, who got upset, started questioning Sajith about it, and the discussion got a bit heated. Sajith made it clear that he too would continue with the IMF. He said that the program will continue, but steps will be taken to amend many clauses that are harmful to the people in it. Accordingly, Brewer immediately asked Sajith which clauses they were.
This government has taxed unfairly. Instead of taxing the rich, the poor are being taxed. When asked, they say IMF. Because we are taxed. But we are changing that clause. We are taking measures to remove the tax burden imposed on the needy people. Instead, we have alternative measures to find money.’ Sajith explained to Brewer about the clauses that will be changed under his government.
Brewer then asked Sajith about his and the economic policy that would be implemented under an SJB government. Sajith gave a clear answer and said that he is implementing a humanitarian economic policy. After Sajith explained it, Sajith’s economic experts, Harsha, Kabir, and Iran, stood in Sajith’s position and explained how the economy would operate under an SJB government, to Brewer and the IMF representatives. There, Sujeeva intervened and explained his experiences to the group.
Sujeeva says to the point
People always expect some kind of relief from the government. Even if we cannot give relief to the people at a time of economic crisis, we should know how to make some space for it. We have those alternative measures. This government has no alternative course of action. The only policy of this government is to sell and tax. These people have no plan to bring investment to the country. How long will this country run after paying taxes like this? A lot of industries have already been covered by this tax loophole. There is no way to do business. Therefore, there is no way forward for the country in this way. As the investment minister, I was working with an investment plan at that time. We brought industries to the country. Industrial zones were created. Roads were built to bring dollars to the country. What has this government done so far?” Sujeewa said sternly, everyone listened silently.
Sajith raised a question
The best part of the discussion came after that. That is because of a question Sajith asked from Brewer after discussing the economic issues and the way forward. There, Sajith asked from which school Brewer studied economics. Brewer replied that he studied at the London School of Economics. Sajith said that he also studied in the same school. Accordingly, when Brewer was surprised and asked for information about it, it was revealed that Brewer was a senior who had studied there a few years earlier than Sajith., It was seen that both of them shared their views very amicably regarding the school environment and the life spent there.
Then Sajith asked Brewer in which province of Germany he was born. Brewer replied that he was born in Mainz, Germany. Brewer was visibly surprised by Sajith’s statement. Germany is generally known for its football. Accordingly, at that moment, Sajith mentioned the names of many famous players who had been selected for the German national football team from Brewer’s Mainz province one by one. Everyone could see that Brewer was extremely surprised by this information, which he did not even know. At the same time, it was seen that the heated discussion at the beginning became very relaxed and friendly.
Opinion Poll results
However, in the face of this information, Brewer finally took steps to ask one more special question. It is related to the position of SJB in the opinion polls that have been conducted so far. Sajith replied with a smile and said that under his government, he will provide further aid and help, where he will show the results of the polls to the country. As soon as Sajith finished saying this, Sujeeva proceeded to explain it further.
There is no need to do opinion polls, SJB will win the next election. Because now in this country, governments cannot be formed by a single party. Governments must be formed through a coalition. We can tell who will win the vote by the number of people joining the coalition. That’s the best poll ever. A big wave has come to our alliance now. But not everyone who comes can join our alliance. Because some of them have corruption charges. No one with those accusations will join our alliance. But now more than 25 MPs are ready to join us. Also, many parties have agreed to join us. The idea is that we will form the next government. Therefore, next time you come to Sri Lanka, make up your mind to work with our government.’ Sujeewa said there.
Met JVP
After this discussion, SJB issued a press release and informed the country about certain matters that were discussed there. The related photos were also released by the media unit. However, a few hours after the discussion, the IMF delegation held another discussion with the JVP at their party office. Many people came to know about it when the JVP released a short announcement and some photos to the media. Party leader Anura did not participate in that discussion, only Harini Amarasuriya, Sunil Handunnetty and a few others joined it on behalf of the party. But there was no mention of what was discussed in the press release. Did JVP agree on IMF policy? There is no information about whether there was any agreement between them. Accordingly, the discussion had ended leaving many qusrions for the country. Below is the announcement issued by JVP in this regard.
‘A discussion was held at the head office of Janata Vimukti Peramuna between a group including Peter Brewer, Head of Operations for Sri Lanka of the International Monetary Fund, and representatives of the National People’s Force.
In addition to Mr Peter Brewer representing the International Monetary Fund, Mrs Sarvath Jahan and Manavi Abeywickrama, Resident Representative of the IMF, she participated.
Member of Parliament Dr Harini Amarasuriya, representing the National People’s Power Economic Council Sunil Handunnetthi, Professor Anil Jayantha, Economic Analyst Dr Harshana Suriyapperuma and National Executive Member Muditha Nanayakkara participated in this event.