By
D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Anura Kumara Dissanayake known popularly as Anura and “AKD” , won the Presidential election of 21 September 2024 in what was described as a gigantic leap. From 418,553 (3.16%) votes in the 2019 Presidential election, AKD increased his vote tally to 5,634,915 (42.31%) in the 2024 Presidential poll. In the second count of votes with Sajith Premadasa, AKD obtained 5,740,179 (55.89%) votes
Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s ninth executive president on 23 September 2024 in a simple ceremony at the Presidential secretariat in Colombo.
Speaking at his swearing in event, Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated as follows – .
“Democracy helped me win. Some voted for me, and others didn’t. But my pledge is to work hard to win the trust of those who didn’t vote for me as well. This is an important part of my Presidency.”
“I am not a magician; I am not a miracle-worker. There are things I know and don’t know. But I will commit myself to doing the right thing at all times, and lead a collective effort to rebuild our nation”
It is against this backdrop of President AKD’s statement after being sworn in as president that this column focuses on the first year progress of the AKD presidency this week. Campaigning for votes is often compared to flowery verse and the knitty-gritty of governance to dull prose. In that context this two-part article will delve into the pre-election pledges made by AKD and his post-election performance in fulfilling those promises during the past year. The first part will focus on AKD’s pre-election propaganda and the second part on his post election performance.
After becoming the ninth Executive President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake led the National People’s Power(NPP) to a glorious triumph at the November 2024 Parliamentary elections. From 445,958 (3.28%) at the 2020 Parliamentary poll, the NPP increased its vote tally to 6,863,186 (61.6%). The party got 159 seats. This was more impressive than even AKD’s Presidential poll success.
Political Success
As mentioned earlier , Anura Kumara Dissanayake while Speaking at his swearing in event, stated that he was neither a magician nor miracle worker. Yet AKD’s remarkable rise in politics as well as the twin successes recorded in two successive elections exude the aura of a fairy tale fantasy. AKD’s political success was a result of the strategy adopted and tactics employed in pursuit of electoral victory.
There were Thirty-eight candidates at the 2024 presidential election. Of these only four were regarded as actual competitors. The others were mere “also rans”. The four main candidates were Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Namal Rajapaksa. Even among these four the fight was a triangular contest between Ranil,Sajith and Anura. It was however Anura who triumphed. A key element in this victory was the manner and mode in which he positioned and projected himself.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa and Namal Rajapaksa possessed political pedigrees of different degrees. Ranil was the son of Esmond Wickremesinghe , a man regarded at one time as one who could make and break governments. Ranil was also the nephew of former Prime Minister and President JR Jayewardene. Sajith was the son of Ranasinghe Premadasa a former Prime minister and President.Likewise Namal was also the son of a former Prime minister and President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Compared to this trio, AKD had no political background. His father Ran Banda Dissanayake was a simple farmer cum minor employee at a Govt department. Also AKD had a less privileged education in comparison with his main competitors. While Ranil, Sajith and Nama were past pupils of prestigious Colombo schools, Anura had studied at Thambuthegama Central College.
Some weeks prior to the presidential poll, the staff and students of his old school had felicitated Anura. While speaking Anura drew attention to his under privileged status in contrast to his main competitors. AKD observed that his rivals came from well established political families and were alumni of prestigious Colombo schools. In short Anura positioned and projected himself as an underdog of humble origins challenging power and privilege. He turned his social disadvantage to his political advantage. Such positioning resonated beyond the Thambuthegama school audience and reflected positively in the polling booths of the Island. From 3% votes in 2019, AKD’s vote tally rose to 42%in 2024.
Gota’s Voters
How then did AKD make this quantum leap through which he increased his votes fourteen-fold from 3% to 42%? Analytical surveys indicate that about 80% of the votes cast for Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the 2019 presidential election were cast in 2024 for Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Around 15% of the 69 lakhs of Gota votes went to Ranil while the remainder was shared by Namal Rajapaksa and Dilith Jayaweera. With the wisdom of hindsight it appears that AKD had been mainly targeting Gota’s voters in the poll without overtly appearing to be doing so.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s electoral success was primarily due to the strategy he adopted when Sri Lanka faced an economic crisis and experienced a mass protest described as the Aragalaya or struggle. Ranil Wickremesinghe took over the presidency when the country was facing an unprecedented economic crisis.
JJB and SJB
Both the Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) as well as the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) faced a dicey situation when the then president Ranil Wickremesinghe kept on inviting the opposition to cooperate with his govt in the national interest and help overcome the unprecedented economic crisis through a combined effort. Declining such an invitation and adopting a hostile, non -cooperative approach may not have gone down well with the people. They may have been criticised for not putting country above party in a crisis situation.
Both the SJB and JVP/NPP navigated themselves out of this tricky situation by downplaying the seriousness of the economic crisis. Instead they began accusing Wickremesinghe of being a Rajapaksa puppet. They reduced the situation from the sublime to the ridiculous. Instead of the need to cope with the economic challenge, the chief opposition parties, side-tracked the issue into that of dealing with alleged Rajapaksa robbery and corruption.
They refused to support Ranil on the grounds that he was only propping up the Rajapaksas and protecting the Medamulana clan from being punished. The fact that Wickremesinghe had been elected mainly due to support by SLPP parliamentarians and depended on them to legislate in Parliament further bolstered the opposition stance.
Sajith’s Blunder
A serious political blunder by Sajith Premadasa enabled Anura Kumara Dissanayake to get the better of the SJB leader. Having taken up the position that the SLPP led by the Rajapaksas was corrupt and had to be shunned, the JVP-NPP stayed firm on that count. The party refused to align in any way with the SLPP or those MPs who had quit the pohottuwa and declared themselves independent. When a group led by Dullas Alahapperuma wanted to join the NPP, Anura shut the compass door on their faces.
Sajith on the other hand welcomed the political renegades of the SLPP into SJB folds. Several SLPP “independents” were supporting Ranil. So Sajith wanted to show off by enticing SLPP crossers over too. The erstwhile SLPP chairman Prof GL Peiris became a close adviser to Premadasa. Many other ex-pohottuwa people including Alahapperuma gradually teamed up with Sajith.
In his desire to demonstrate that the SJB too was attracting ex-SLPP parliamentarians, Sajith was accepting people who were until recently part and parcel of an allegedly corrupt party led by the Rajapaksas. It was as if corrupt sinners could receive absolution by joining the telephone camp.
This exercise of political expediency dented Premadasa’s political image. In contrast Anura’s stock rose considerably high. The JVP/NPP was perceived as a principled party that did not embrace political renegades from a corrupt party. While the JVP’s parliamentary strength remained at a static three, the SJB’s parliamentary membership kept increasing. Support for the JVP went up outside Parliament where it really mattered.
Against Corruption
The JVP led NPP’s uncompromising stance strengthened the belief that it was only the “Malimawa” (compass) that was genuinely against corruption and was seriously committed about bringing the Rajapaksas and their henchmen to justice. AKD was projected as the only person dedicated to the ideal of eradicating corruption and meting out justice to the corrupt elements plaguing the country.
The JVP’s zealous anti- corruption campaign was eagerly lapped up by a vast number of people. Obviously the people were angry about the prevailing corruption in almost every sphere of life and wanted it to end or at least be curtailed. However, there was another underlying reason too.
Basically Sri Lanka’s economic crisis was the consequence of decades of economic mismanagement. In the words of Cambridge educated economist Joan Robinson from the UK, “Ceylon had been eating the fruits without planting trees”. The Rajapaksa regime aggravated the crisis further and helped expedite the inevitable crunch.
People Indirectly Blamed
It was Ranil Wickremesinghe who led the country on the road to economic recovery. His approach was that of being open and honest with the people. Ranil stated that there was no option but to go ahead with the IMF arrangement. He said the country and people had to suffer and sacrifice in the present to pave the way for recovery and prosperity in the future. In short the people were also indirectly blamed for the crisis and were called upon to act with diligence and responsibility.
The JVP/NPP led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake preferred to stay aloof and criticise the president and his government instead of cooperating with Wickremesinghe. The JVP downplayed the enormous gravity of the economic crisis. Anura even mocked Ranil saying the president was for political reasons exaggerating about the magnitude of the crisis.
The stratagem adopted by AKD and the JVP/NPP was to blame corrupt politicians and bureaucrats in general and the Rajapaksas and those connected to them in particular for the crisis. There was no need to burden the people for the country to extricate itself from the economic morass it had sunk into. All that was required was to crack down on the rascals and retrieve the money they had systematically robbed over the years. If corruption was eradicated and culprits punished all would be well. There was no need for the people to suffer in any way.
The JVP/NPP stance was welcomed by the people. AKD through his skilful oratory took this message far and wide. The people were told that all economic troubles would be over when culprits are punished and corruption ends. It is corruption that has undermined the country. If that is tackled everything would be hunky dory.
AKD succeeded to a great extent in converting people to this viewpoint because it made the people feel they were not responsible in any way for the crisis. Their anger was directed against the corrupt elements. They were convinced that AKD had to become president for anti-corruption action to be taken.
International Monetary Fund
The JVP led NPP also criticised the Wickremesinghe Govt for seeking the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The left in Sri Lanka has a history of negativity towards the World Bank and IMF known as the “Bretton Woods Twins”. The JVP-NPP revived that hostility. It pointed out the hardships the people especially the vulnerable sections of society were undergoing due to IMF conditions.
AKD promised to re-negotiate with the IMF and get a better deal if elected.The JVP’s economic wizard Sunil Handunnethi even stated that they would resolve the economic crisis through donations from the Sri Lankan Diaspora instead of resorting to the IMF.
Once again Ranil Wickremesinghe stated the true position regarding the IMF arrangement. He said that benchmarks could not be changed but a little bit of tweaking was possible in a few matters. Ranil’s truths were disbelieved. Anura’s untruths were believed.
Though Wickremesinghe had ensured availability of essential items, affordability was an acute problem for most of the people (70%). Cost of living was rising but salaries were not going up. The rich were getting richer and poor getting poorer. The middle class was becoming extinct. In such a climate AKD’s pie in the sky pledges were more attractive to the people. His electability increased. Ultimately AKD tasted success and became President.
After criticizing Ranil and his economic policies during the election campaign, The newly elected president did a U-turn after assuming office. AKD and his Govt have been following Ranil’s policies faithfully in the economic sphere. The JVP led NPP attacked the IMF agreement during the election campaign.Now the AKD Govt takes pride in adhering to it.
Road which Ranil Went
During the days of Rohana Wijeweeraq , the crimson comrades of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna(JVP) would go in procession shouting “Api Yanne Koi Paarey?Che Guevara Giya Paarey”(Which road are we travelling on?the Road along which Che Guevara went). If the JVP led NPP was to go in such a procession today, the slogan they could shout out is “ Api Yanney Koi Paarey, Ranil Wickremesinghe giya Paarey.” (Which road are we travelling on?the road along which Ranil Wickremesinghe went!)
D.B.S.Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com
This article appears in the “DBS Jeyaraj Column”of the “Daily Mirror”dated 23rd September 2025.It can be accessed here –
https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/President-AKDs-U-turn-Pre-poll-Propaganda-and-Post-Election-Performance/172-320189
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