“Somehow Winning” Approach Has No Currency For UNP
By Kusal Perera -October 16, 2014
Kusal Perera
President Rajapaksa is already on his campaign journey up North. He boarded the Yaal Devi train that reached Jaffna after a 24 year lapse, handed over pawned gold jewellery to 25 individuals in Jaffna (MoD says they have identified 2,377 such owners who had pawned their jewellery toLTTE banks) to mark such handover, toured Delft island to check development, opened 03 “Mahindodaya Technology labs” in Delft, Kayts and Karainagar schools, visited Nagadeepa temple and Amman kovil in Jaffna, doled out 100 million rupees to 1,250 displaced persons in a ceremony at Iranamadu, gave out 20,000 land permits in Kilinochchi, handed over 02 “Mahindodaya Technology labs” to Kilinochchi Hindu and Waddakachchi MV and more were promised on development. Abolition of the Executive Presidency he said, will be only possible if “Eelam” is given up totally (Wouldn’t know by whom and didn’t know the Executive Presidency is a Sinhala extremist counter to Tamilean issue).
Though a presidential poll is only speculated and his third time candidacy is now dumped in controversy, he had begun his campaign to at least retain the 18 p.c the UPFA polled 01 year ago at the NPC elections. He spent 03 whole days in North and he does it his way, the only way he knows despite the fact it failed even in Uva PC elections this time.Unlike his closest stooges, President Rajapaksa knows quite well, this time as in 2010 January when he rode the waves of Sinhala patriotism, the Sinhala voters will not carry him along. He therefore has to count minority votes as important in a coming election, for him to ride home safe. If one counts what the Rajapaksas lost at the Uva PC elections, the decline in Sinhala Buddhist vote is clear. In 2009 August, Moneragala an over 90 p.c Sinhala Buddhist district gave the UPFA, in essence the Rajapaksas, a stunning 81.3 p.c and the whole Uva province a staggering 72.4 p.c of the votes polled. But not this time. Read More
