By

C.A.Chandraprema

Kandy has long been known to be a bastion of the UNP. Maithripala Sirisena got 54.5% of the votes in that district and had a majority of 88,000. Even though MR did win some electorates even in this district, one may say that the political initiative in Kandy has now passed on to the UNP once again after the interruption of 2010. This is now arguably one of the Sinhala majority districts where the SLFP and by association Mahinda Rajapaksa is weakest.

So when the second rally to bring Mahinda back to politics was held in Kandy, the four parties that are leading the revanchist charge were taking an unwarranted risk. After the huge success of Nugegoda, scheduling the very next rally in the enemy’s own lair as it were, was actually a foolhardy risk. On top of all that was the ban imposed by the SLFP hierarchy on their elected representatives from attending this rally. In the wake of that ban, many SLFP parliamentarians publicly backed down on the plans they had to attend. With all these factors working simultaneously as dampeners the Kandy rally was an enormous risk that the Mahinda promoters were taking.

This writer made it a point to be present in Kandy to see how things go. Contrary to all expectations, the meeting was a huge success. The open space in front of the Kandy market was jam-packed, the road between the Bogambara prison and the clock tower was completely blocked and traffic diverted. One lane of the road leading to the railway station was closed to accommodate the spillover. As in Nugegoda people were observing the rally from any vantage point available, particularly the roof of the Kandy market and the roof top garden of the hawker market across the road. The only meeting bigger than this at this location that this writer has seen was the UNP’s inaugural rally in Kandy for the parliamentary election of 1994.

Kandy was the home turf of the then president D.B.Wijetunga and given the fact that Kandy was a UNP stronghold it was decided at that time to hold the inaugural rally in Kandy for the campaign to gain traction. But for the UNP’s 1994 show, electoral organizers of the party brought busloads of supporters to Kandy from all over the country.    

A similar operation was impossible for the pro-Mahinda rally in Kandy.  Yet, the attendance was such that both the UNP and the SLFP would be hard put to organize a show of strength like that. When the UNP held its inaugural rally in Kandy in 1994, President Wijetunga and the entire UNP cabinet was in attendance but the Kandy meeting was held without Mahinda. Yet people came in their thousands to listen to a message read out by someone else!

It is not too difficult to imagine that had Mahinda been present in person, this rally may have turned into the biggest event that Kandy has ever seen. Apart from the numbers present, the other noteworthy feature was the enthusiasm of the people who attended.

As in Nugegoda, it was a 90% male gathering. Which means that this was not an ‘outing’ organized by politicians from outside the district for the families of supporters to visit the Dalada Maligawa, Peradeniya gardens and end the day by attending the pro-Mahinda rally.

Talking to those present, the present writer saw that everybody had come there with a mission in mind. Despite the ban on SLFP elected representatives from attending this rally, the stage was full with many standing due to the lack of seats. The Nugegoda and Kandy rallies are the only public meetings that this writer has seen where large numbers of people were standing on the stage. Dinesh Gunawardene announced that there were 87 provincial councilors on the stage.

Former Central Province governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa was one of the first SLFP dignitaries to turn up by 3.15 pm. Baddegama Samitha Thera who is a platform speaker of no mean talent was by 3.45 bellowing for Azath Salley to come and count the number of people present. Parliamentarian Dilum Amunugama made a dramatic appearance on the stage at around 5.00pm to the sound of firecrackers reverberating through the enclosed spaces of the Kandy town. At one point dozens of provincial councilors arrived in a group and the proceedings were disrupted for a while until their names were read out and they waved to the crowd.

It was Tikiri Kobbekaduwa who read out Mahinda Rajapaksa’s message. But he didn’t have Dayan Jayatilleke’s flair for it, and coming as it did immediately after his own speech many in the crowd unless they were listening very carefully, would have thought it was an extension of Kobbekaduwa’s speech. As in Nugegoda, what was most palpable was the enthusiasm of the crowd that waved the national flag and pictures of Mahinda and cheered themselves hoarse whenever Mahinda’s name was mentioned or a speaker made a point they liked.

Given the wild enthusiasm of the crowd even without Mahinda being present, if the former president or even someone who can represent him like Gota had been present, the enthusiasm would have turned into quite something. We are clearly seeing a phenomenon that we have never before seen in this country. But will Mahinda tread the road that is being prepared for him?

Courtesy:Sunday Island