Gota to contest WPC opposite Karu!

Saturday, 05 October 2013 

The president has decided to introduce Defence Secretary Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to politics by fielding him as the UPFA chief ministerial candidate opposite former UNP deputy leader Mr. Deshamanya Karu Jayasuriya if he runs for the chief minister at the upcoming elections for the western provincial council.

There was talk of attorney Mrs. Pushpa Rajapaksa, the wife of economic development minister Mr. Basil Rajapaksa, contesting as the UPFA chief ministerial candidate at the WPC polls. However, first lady Mrs. Shiranthi Rajapaksa and MP Mr. Namal Rajapaksa have both strongly objected to it. Members of the president’s family have fully endorsed the entry of Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to politics.

The president has taken the decision in view of the UPFA’s failure in urban areas of Colombo district and Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s popularity among the people due to his efforts to beautify the Colombo city, according to sources at the Presidential Secretariat.

The president has seriously considered predictions that if Mr. Karu Jayasuriya contests as the UNP chief ministerial candidate, he will have a heavy influence on the Sinhala Buddhist vote base of the UPFA. Both Messrs. Karu Jayasuriya and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa have won confidence of the Sinhala Buddhist hardliners and are former military officers too. Also, they are old boys of Ananda Vidyalaya, Colombo, the pinnacle of Sinhala buddhist education.

Mahanayake Theras and several Sinhala Buddhist organizations have asked Mr. Karu Jayasuriya to contest for the position of chief minister of the western province. However, he is yet take a decision.

If Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa wins Colombo district with a big majority, the president is seriously considering to bring him to parliament on the national list.