{"id":62617,"date":"2019-01-29T01:11:31","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T06:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=62617"},"modified":"2019-01-29T04:21:23","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T09:21:23","slug":"why-mahinda-is-reluctant-to-endorse-maithripala-as-presidential-election-candidate-for-2019-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=62617","title":{"rendered":"Why Mahinda Is Reluctant To Endorse Maithripala As Presidential Election Candidate For 2019 Polls"},"content":{"rendered":"

By
\nD.B.S.Jeyaraj<\/strong><\/p>\n

The greatest political surprise or upset in Sri Lankan politics last year was the political re-alignment of President Maithripala Sirisena and Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In a bizarre political twist Maithripala joined forces with his ex-leader to launch an unconstitutional and undemocratic attempt to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replace him with Mahinda Rajapaksa as Purported Prime Minister. The backdoor bid to grab power failed miserably. The reasons for the debacle are well known.<\/p>\n

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Deepavali Celebrations-Nov 2018-via: @PresRajapaksa<\/p><\/div>\n

What is of interest now is the prevailing state of political relations between President Sirisena and the recently recognized Leader of the opposition Rajapaksa.The tactical alliance formed last year to oust Ranil Wickremesinghe is yet functioning but recent straws in the wind seem to indicate that all is not well in the opportunistic union. While Maithripala Sirisena wants the \u201cOctober 26 partnership\u201d of Prime Minister Mahinda and President Maithripala to continue as planned the \u201cpohottuwa\u201dcamp does not appear to be very keen about perpetuating the Sirisena-Rajapaksa political arrangement.
\n
\nThe move to install Mahinda as Prime Minister has ended in failure but the Presidential election is due this year. Since President Sirisena completed four years in office on Jan 8 2019, he is entitled to advance the Presidential election if he wants to. According to the Constitution, the President may, at any time after the expiration of four years from \u201cthe commencement of his first term of office, by proclamation, declare his intention of appealing to the People for a mandate to hold office, by election, for a further term.\u201d Therefore after January 9, 2019 the President can declare his intention to call for an election. The Constitution also stipulates that the poll for the election of the President shall be taken not less than one month and not more than two months before the expiration of the term of office of the president in office. This means not after December, 8, 2019 and not before November 8, 2019.<\/p>\n

President Sirisena would very much like to contest the presidency again but he knows he cannot win without the support of either the United National Party(UNP) nor the Sri Lanka Podujana Party(SLPP). Maithripala\u2019s Machiavellian shenanigans in association with Mahinda last year shows clearly that Sirisena has thrown in his lot with the Rajapaksas at least for the time being.It is a political reality that the mandate on which Maithripala Sirisena was elected president in 2015 is now irredeemably fractured and totally distorted. The man who broke away from and later defeated Mahinda with the aid of Ranil has now backstabbed Wickremesinghe and forged an alliance with Rajapaksa. This topsy-turvy change of platform and principle has negated the mandate on which Sirisena was elected president.As such it is imperative that President Sirisena should go to the polls again and obtain an electoral endorsement -if possible – of his convoluted political stance. This, the president will do willingly if he has Mahinda\u2019s backing. That however does not seem so readily available at the present juncture. An air of uncertainty prevails.<\/p>\n

SLFP Presidential Candidate Sirisena<\/strong><\/p>\n

The newly appointed General-secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP) Dayasiri Jayasekara made a unilateral declaration that Maithripala Sirisena would be the SLFP presidential candidate. This was not received well in Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna(SLPP) circles. Jayasekara an adroit political triple-jumper ruffled feelings further when asked about the SLPP. He replied with an idiomatic expression in Sinhala meaning\u2018 \u201cOne does not build a house in a cemetery if he is afraid of the devil\u2019. This cocky response aroused the \u201cYakka\u201d (Devil) in Mahinda Rajapaksa.When asked about Dayasiri\u2019s \u201cyakkaa\u201d comments, the visibly irritated Leader of the Opposition responded \u201c You need to ask Jayasekara, he must be dealing with the devil\u2019.<\/p>\n

Two other SLFP loyalists of President Sirisena also made announcements to the effect that Maithripala Sirisena would be the SLFP candidate at the forthcoming presidential elections. One was former cabinet minister and accredited SLFP spokesperson Mahinda Samarasinghe. The other was former leader of the opposition and senior -most SLFP deputy -leader cum ex-minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. Samarasinghe who crossed over to Mahinda from Ranil\u2019s side and then went over from Mahinda to Maithripala is now a close confidante of the president. He stated that Sirisena was the SLFP presidential candidate and declared brazenly \u201cIt is a matter for other parties if they want to support him or not\u201d. Siripala de Silva echoed the same sentiments at a party press conference though somewhat less stridently. It does not appear that Jayasekara, Samarasinghe and Siripala de Silva were announcing Sirisena\u2019s candidacy without the president\u2019s approval. Though Maithripala is silent overtly, he seems to have covertly sanctioned the announcement by SLFP stalwarts. This again is typical of Sirisena\u2019s functional style which is keeping mum while letting his lapdogs do the yapping.<\/p>\n

Whatever the agreement Mahinda and Maithripala may have arrived at before, during or after the \u201cOctober 26 political crisis\u201d about the presidential candidacy, the reaction in \u201cpohottuwa\u201d(Lotus Bud) circles to Sirisena\u2019s proposed candidacy seems hostile. A gathering of SLPP local authority members and Provincial councilors – both past and present \u2013 resolved unanimously that Sirisena should not be the SLPP backed presidential candidate. Several UPFA\/ SLPP backbenchers also declared their opposition to a Sirisena candidacy and re-iterated that the presidential candidate should be from the SLPP.<\/p>\n

Electing a President From the SLPP<\/strong><\/p>\n

This SLPP stance was forcefully articulated further by former cabinet minister and Rajapaksa sibling Basil Rajapaksa. The dynamic architect of the SLPP\u2019s political success addressing a party event in Mahara said that the next President would be from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).According to a release by the SLPP Media unit , Basil Rajapaksa had reportedly stated that he expects a President to be elected from the SLPP-led new alliance before the year 2019 ends. \u201cElecting a President from the SLPP is not a mere statement. When the SLPP was not more than one year old, it showed it’s strength by defeating grand old parties like the UNP and the SLFP at the last local government election,\u201d Rajapaksa said. The statement about a SLPP president by Basil Rajapaksa the chief political strategist of the SLPP is not something which could be dismissed lightly as political rhetoric.<\/p>\n

Further political developments of a very interesting nature continued to occur. Kalutara district MP and former minister Kumara Welgama came out with a controversial suggestion. Welgama an avowed Mahinda loyalist stated that Mahinda Rajapaksa himself should run for President. Although the 19th Amendment barred Rajapaksa from contesting, Welgama seemed to be of the view that this should be put to the test in courts by Mahinda contesting himself.Welgama\u2019s opinion was that the 19th Amendment could not be applied retrospectively.Therefore Mahinda Rajapaksa (or even Chandrika Kumaratunga) who had been president twice before the 19th amendment came into force could contest again was the crux of Welgama\u2019s argument. It is noteworthy that Kumar Welgama has boldly opposed the candidacy of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in the past as well as that of Maithripala Sirisena in recent times. <\/p>\n

In spite of Welgama\u2019s loyal entreaties , it is highly unlikely that Mahinda would try to contest again. By doing so Mahinda would certainly get embroiled in court cases again. Given recent happenings, it is doubtful whether Mahinda would place himself at the mercy of the Judiciary again. The former president in his short -lived avatar as purported Prime Minister has received powerful punches from the Supreme court and Appeal court recently. Mahinda knows that the current conduct of the upper echelons of the Judiciary is vastly different from what it was when Sarath Nanda Silva or Mohan Peiris held office as Chief Justice. Mahinda is not likely to risk being humiliated again by a potentially adverse ruling from the courts. There is a Tamil proverb \u201cSoodu Kanda Poonai Aduppankarai Naadaathu\u201dmeaning a cat singed by the fire once would not go near the hearth again.<\/p>\n

Gotabhaya Ready For Presidential Candidacy<\/strong><\/p>\n

In another significant turn of events former Defence secretary and Rajapaksa sibling Gotabhaya Rajapaksa captured widespread media attention just one day after the SLPP local authority representatives and PC members decided not to support Sirisena at a presidential election. Providing what was the clearest indication yet of his intention to run in the upcoming Presidential elections, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa stated openly that he is ready to take up the presidential candidacy challenge, if and when polls are called, possibly by the end of 2019.Speaking at a \u2018Viyathmaga\u2019 event at Water\u2019s Edge ,Rajapaksa argued that he advocates \u2018Jathikathwaya\u2019 over \u2018Jathiwadaya\u2019.<\/p>\n

According to Gotabhaya \u2018Jathikathwaya\u201d was defined as inclusive and egalitarian nationalism while \u201cJathiwadaya\u201d was divisive nationalism. According to news reports Gotabhaya contended that Sri Lankans needed to embrace \u2018Jathikathwaya\u2019 to develop the country and pointed out that this message had to be delivered to the masses ahead of a likely Presidential election later this year.\u201cWe know there should be a Presidential election this year. I am ready if you are,\u201d Rajapaksa said to a cheering crowd at the end of his speech. During the short address, Rajapaksa called on professionals to unite and build a common identity that could be embraced by all Sri Lankans. Some days later when Gotabhaya was accosted by the media at the Special court premises and asked about his presidential election candidacy, the reply was \u201cI have already said I\u2019m ready\u201d <\/p>\n

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pic via: @RGotabaya<\/p><\/div>\n

Almost as if acting on cue , the Gotabhaya fan club within the SLPP expressed support for his candidacy.Addressing a press conference at the Nelum Mawatha political office of the SLPP, UPFA MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena confirmed his party’s support for the former Defence Secretary. Rohitha also sought to find some common ground between the political ambition of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena.”The former Defence Secretary also has a close connection with President Maithripala Sirisena. It is not difficult for them to embark on a journey together,” the UPFA Parliamentarian said. Though Rohitha jumped the gun by announcing SLPP support for Gotabhaya\u2019s candidacy the fact of the matter is that no official decision has been made in this regard by the party so far.<\/p>\n

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pic via: facebook.com\/maithripalas\/<\/p><\/div>\n

This however was not the end of surprising political twists. Newspaper reports said Former Speaker and eldest of the Rajapaksa brothers Chamal Rajapaksa too was ready to contest the forthcoming Presidential Elections like Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.When questioned by the \u201cDaily News\u201d over media reports about his presidential ambitions, the former Speaker reportedly said that he was ready to contest if the people are ready. \u201cWhen the media was posing various questions as to whether I am ready for the elections, I said \u2018yes\u2019. If the people are ready then I am ready too.That\u2019s all,\u201d he said.Chamal Rajapaksa was however skeptical whether he would be given the opportunity to contest. \u201cLet\u2019s see if the offer comes my way. It\u2019s too early to comment,\u201d he added. Asked whether he prefers to contest from the SLFP or the SLPP, the former Speaker said again that it has to be decided when the time comes. \u201cWhen the time comes, the party will nominate a suitable candidate.There is nothing much to agitate over it,\u201d he said. The former Speaker said that they were attempting to put forth a single Presidential candidate jointly from the SLFP and the SLPP.<\/p>\n

Summarised In Six Brief Points<\/strong><\/p>\n

All these political currents provide an insight into the prevailing state of affairs in the Rajapaksa camp about forthcoming presidential elections. This situation could be summarized in Six brief points. Firstly the SLPP\/SLFP\/UPFA forces would prefer a common Presidential candidate. Secondly there is growing opposition within the SLPP towards the idea of a Maithripala Sirisena Candidacy. Thirdly there is a strong tendency endorsed by SLPP chief political strategist Basil Rajapaksa that the presidential candidate should be from the Pohottuwa party. Fourthly there is a systematic on going campaign to promote Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as the candidate while efforts are also on to counterbalance it with other prospective candidates like Chamal Rajapaksa. Fifthly the ultimate decision in this regard will be taken by Mahinda Rajapaksa in concurrence with Basil Rajapaksa and publicized at the appropriate time. Sixthly it is unclear as to whether Maithripala Sirisena would acquiesce meekly with the decision if unfavourable to him or would strike out independently either alone or in association with others.<\/p>\n

As of now the only factor in favour of a Maithripala presidential candidacy is the agreement or understanding supposedly arrived at with Mahinda at the time of the October 26 political conspiracy. That however was not a permanent agreement.There was only a convergence of interests between Mahinda and Maithripala that paved the way for both to align against the perceived common enemy Ranil. Both Mahinda and Maithripala needed each other to topple Ranil and set up a new dispensation. There was no identity of interests. More importantly neither trusted each other despite being partners in a political conspiracy.The common mission however was not accomplished. What is interesting now is that while Sirisena is yet dependent on Rajapaksa to realise his political objectives the same could not be said for Rajapaksa. Though Maithripala could be of utilitarian value to Mahinda as long as the former remains President, it appears that Sirisena\u2019s usefulness to the Rajapaksas is gradually diminishing. In fact the lame duck president could turn out to be more of a political liability than asset to the Rajapaksas in the current context.<\/p>\n

What was most unexpected politically and most unacceptable morally about the abortive power grab bid last October was the \u201cunholy alliance\u201dbetween Maithripala and Mahinda.Sirisena a senior minister in the Government headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa as President was also the secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP). He defected from the then Govt in November 2014 and became the common opposition candidate at the 2015 Jan 8 Presidential elections. He defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa with the aid and support of the United National Party(UNP)led by Ranil Wickremesinghe.Thereafter Sirisena appointed Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and also assumed office as leader of the SLFP. Sirisena and Wickremesinghe together enacted the 19th amendment to the Constitution that abolished Mahinda\u2019s chances pf contesting for the presidency again. The UNP led United National Front(UNF) and sections of the SLFP led by Sirisena formed a coalition Govt after the August 2015 Parliamentary polls. However internal dissension set in soon. The situation was complicated further by political and personal incompatibility between Maithripala and Ranil. Sirisena covertly initiated a no confidence motion against Wickremesinghe that did not succeed. After months and months of simmering tension the flashpoint of tension exploded on Oct 26th 2018.<\/p>\n

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Speaker Karu Jayasuriya<\/p><\/div>\n

Fifty-one Days of Political Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n

As is well known now President Sirisena removed Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa after getting the UPFA to pull out formally from the coalition Govt. Despite the pull-out Wickremesinghe had a majority in Parliament. Parliament was prorogued for 3 weeks to enable Mahinda to cobble together a majority by enticing MP\u2019s from different parties with \u201cincentives\u201d. Though a few MP\u2019s did cross over the bulk of Parliamentarians did not join the purported Premier Rajapaksa\u2019s Govt. Having failed to garner a majority, Sirisena dissolved Parliament and scheduled fresh elections in what was a flagrantly intentional violation of the Constitution.The legislature spearheaded by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya offered stiff resistance to the arbitrary,unconstitutional action of the executive president. A majority of MP\u2019s passed several votes in the House thereby demonstrating that Mahinda Rajapaksa had no majority. Political parties and MP\u2019s also filed petitions in the Supreme court and Court of Appeal. The Courts upheld the petitions through landmark judgements. Maithripala and Mahinda were compelled to throw in the towel after Fifty-one days of political crisis.Ranil Wickremesinghe was rightfully restored as Prime Minister again.<\/p>\n

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| Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ~ At Lakshman Kadirgmar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) on Tuesday May 3, 2016|<\/p><\/div>\n

The ill-advised attempt to grab power through anti-constitutional means dented the political image of Mahinda Rajapaksa considerably. As for Maithripala Sirisena his already tarnished reputation plunged further down. The only tangible gain – if one may call it that – accruing to Mahinda Rajapaksa was his becoming the accredited leader of the opposition.Though thwarted in their power grab bid both Mahinda and Maithripala will jointly and separately continue to work hard to undermine the Wickremesinghe -led Govt although Sirisena as President is the nominal head of the same Government. Thus Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa will be waging war against Ranil Wickremesinghe\u2019s Government from within and without. Rajapaksa will launch attacks from outside and Sirisena will sabotage from the inside. They will continue with renewed vigour the task of completing their unfinished agenda.<\/p>\n

The Maithripala -Mahinda agenda was to set up a Govt with Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister for a short duration and then go in for Parliamentary elections. Though an election to Parliament is due only in 2020 and a Presidential election has to take place before 2019 ends, the plan was to go for an early parliamentary poll. This was primarily because Mahinda Rajapaksa was debarred from contesting the presidential elections as the 19th amendment had reversed the 18th Constitutional amendment and restored the earlier provision of the two presidential terms only restriction. Thus Mahinda cant contest as President but can become Prime Minister again if he wanted to. Since Maithripala was eligible to contest for the presidency again, he hoped to contest with the support of Mahinda and win.Thereafter he would complete his term and retire enabling Namal Rajapaksa to take over.<\/p>\n

It was on the basis of this agenda that Maithripala re-aligned with Mahinda. However there was always the possibility that Mahinda may not have gone through with the arrangement if he was able to register a sweeping Parliamentary victory. If Mahinda was able to win with a large number of MP\u2019s he could always expand it to a two-thirds majority by encouraging defections as he did in 2010. If Mahinda obtained a two-thirds majority then he had the option of revising the 19th amendment to facilitate a third presidential term for himself. For instance the restriction on two terms could have been amended to holding two \u201cconsecutive Terms\u201d as in the case of Putin\u2019s Russia . This could have enabled Mahinda to dispense with Maithripala if he wanted to do so..After all the septuagenarian Mahinda seeks power primarily to ensure the successful succession of son Namal Rajapaksa to the top seat of power. Also Mahinda would prefer to extend the executive presidency. All this is merely speculative. In any case the possibility of cutting or not cutting out Maithripala never arose as the entire plan of holding early Parliamentary elections went awry.<\/p>\n

Option of Early Presidential Election<\/strong><\/p>\n

The option of holding an early presidential election is now possible as President Sirsena has completed four years in office. As stated before Maithripala would like to have it soon as possible if he is the candidate backed by Mahinda or the common candidate of the SLFP.SLPP \u2013 UPFA combine. But it is doubtful whether he would plunge in without such support or backing. In the case of Mahinda Rajapaksa he would very much like to have Maithripala Sirisena on his side as long as he holds office as President because there are advantages to be derived. Sirisena though a lame duck president still has the capacity ti sabotage, obstruct and embarrass the Govt headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe. More importantly Mahinda would not like to make an enemy of Maithripala as long as he wields power as President. As such he would opt for a partnership at Provincial Council or Parliamentary polls. It is very possible that the SLPP and SLFP may contest together in a common alliance at the Provincial Council elections when held. But Mahinda is somewhat reluctant or hesitant to back Sirisena as the Presidential candidate at this point of time.<\/p>\n

There are many valid reasons for Mahinda\u2019s vacillation or procrastination in this matter. In the first place the political image of Mahinda Rajapaksa has been tarnished by the abortive attempt to gain power through anti-constitutional means. This does not mean Mahinda has become unpopular but his support base has been eroded. He needs time to engage in political salvage and restore his reputation again. In that context Mahinda would prefer an election campaign where he would be the central figure and not a presidential election where – being debarred from contesting – he would have to play second fiddle to to whoever is the Presidential candidate. So he would try and have a Parliamentary poll or Provincial council polls where he would be the chief campaigner on an Island -wide basis.<\/p>\n

Mahinda also needs time to sort things out before deciding on a Presidential candidate. There are tensions and currents within the family circle pulling in different directions. Amicable political relationships between and among family members have to be restored and streamlined The SLPP is undecided yet but seems to be opposed to an \u201coutsider\u201d being the presidential candidate. Likewise some siblings too are likely to be offended if an \u201coutsider\u201dis selected as a candidate for the presidency. It is also unclear whether Gotabhaya will be eligible to contest the presidency. Also Mahinda does not want any decision arrived at to be challenged before the Judiciary. Earlier he may have been confident about getting favourable verdicts from the courts but after being \u201cburnt\u201d recently he would not take any chances. So he would prolong the time needed to take a firm, final decision on the presidential candidate.<\/p>\n

Backing Sirisena For The Presidency<\/strong><\/p>\n

All these factors are reasons enough for Mahinda\u2019s reluctance to endorse Maithripala\u2019s presidential candidacy at this juncture but there are other important reasons for this delay too. According to informed sources who are to some extent cognizant with Mahinda\u2019s thinking, the former President is now having second thoughts about backing Sirisena for the presidency. There are two broad reasons for this. One is whether Maithripala Sirisena can win the presidential elections even with Mahinda\u2019s backing. The other is whether Sirisena will remain dependable and trustworthy after winning.<\/p>\n

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Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga<\/p><\/div>\n

Mahinda Rajapaksa is like a wounded lion after the Oct 26 fiasco. According to informed sources he is meeting with a cross section of party members , supporters and independent observers nowadays and trying to do a post -mortem on what had happened and what went wrong. Much of the feedback Mahinda has received is rather negative about Maithripala Sirisena. Mahinda being a veteran politician is realizing slowly that Maithripala Sirisena does not have a positive image after his political conduct in recent times. He is seen as a selfish, unreliable politician who has made a mess of things. The grassroots supporters of the Rajapaksas perceive Sirisena as a traitor who joined the UNP to defeat Mahinda. Now they view him as a man who took Mahinda for a ride by appointing him premier and causing serious damage to his reputation. The supporters of Chandrika and Ranil look at Maithripala as an ungrateful upstart who betrays all in his lust for power. Civil society sections regard him as public enemy one nowadays.<\/p>\n

The little clout enjoyed by Sirisena now is likely to dwindle and vanish after he relinquishes office as President. Some of his current lackeys too may desert him then. If Maithripala Sirisena becomes a presidential election candidate with or without the support of Mahinda, he is likely to be politically attacked by diverse forces on multiple counts. The various acts of omission and commission by Sirisena will provide lethal ammunition to his political rivals in a presidential poll. The very fact that Sirisena is contesting again as president after promising earlier that he would not contest again and that saying he would abolish the executive presidency will work against him. Even if Mahinda supports Maithripala, there is every chance that voters of the Rajapaksa camp mat vote against or not vote at all. Some may even fault Mahinda for supporting Maithripala. Thus Mahinda hesitates as he is unsure whether Sirisena can win.<\/p>\n

The second and more compelling reason for Mahinda\u2019s reluctance is the personality and character of Maithripala Sirisena. The general impression after the 19th Constitutional Amendment was that Presidential powers had been down -sized and that the Prime Minister post had been empowered. It was on that basis that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa opted to become Prime Minister under President Sirisena. But the unrestrained manner in which Sirisena conducted himself and exercised his real or imaginary powers has demonstrated that the presidency has not been rendered toothless. The legislature and Judiciary combined with people\u2019s resistance may have helped countermand the executive power grab but the sordid 51 day tragi-comedy has illustrated clearly the potential of the executive presidency to inflict destructive damage to democratic institutions and the polity. Even now Sirisena is demonstrating that the powers he possesses are yet enough to wreak havoc with the Ranil Wickremesinghe Govt.<\/p>\n

Sirisena Like Dickensian Uriah Heep<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is therefore obvious that Maithripala Sirisena would have the capacity to do much harm or good if re-elected as President again. Even if he wins with Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s support there is no guarantee that Sirisena would be politically grateful or abide by the Rajapaksas after being installed in office. The manner and mode in which Maithripala Sirisena utilized Ven. Sobhitha Thero, Civil society organizations, Chandrika Kumaratunga,Ranil Wickremesinghe and the minority community political parties to climb to the pinnacle of power and later discarded them are clear pointers towards the man\u2019s duplicitous character. The way in which he let down MP\u2019s of the UPFA\/SLFP who supported him later is another indicator. There was a time when Sirisena like the Dickensian Uriah Heep fawned obsequiously before Chandrika and Ranil saying he would always call them \u201cMadam\u201d and \u201cSir\u201d. Contrast that utterance with how he treated Ranil and is now treating Chandrika.<\/p>\n

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Ven Maduluwewa Sobitha Thero (29 May 1942 \u2013 6 November 2015) -pic: YoungAsiaTV<\/p><\/div>\n

Under these circumstances Mahinda Rajapaksa is understandably hesitant about endorsing Maithripala Sirisena\u2019s presidential candidacy. He is reluctant to emulate Dr. Frankenstein and create a \u201cmonster\u201d that may run amok again. Aligning with Sirisena and getting the President to break with the coalition Govt and wreak havoc on the Ranil Wickremesinghe Govt may have been acceptable to Mahinda at this juncture but he would not like the same to be done to him by Maithripala in the future. After all Mahinda could not have forgotten how Maithripala partook of an egg hopper and coffee dinner with him and crossed over the next day. Mahinda could not have forgotten how he sent Lalith Weeratunga and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to meet Sirisena in the morning after hearing that he was planning to jump and how Maithripala solemnly assured them of his bona fides and did the dirty in the evening.<\/p>\n

It is against this backdrop therefore that Mahinda Rajapaksa is showing a marked reluctance to endorse Maithripala Sirisena\u2019s presidential candidacy. Mahinda perceived Maithripala as a political asset to fracture the coalition Govt , replace Ranil as Prime Minister , dissolve Parliament and schedule early elections. That political exercise ended in failure and Sirisena\u2019s usefulness is gradually diminishing. As stated earlier the SLPP and SLFP may contest together as part of a common alliance in the Provincial polls but it seems unlikely that the SLPP will back Sirisena in a presidential poll. Maithripala is of utilitarian value to Mahinda as long as he remains the President. Thereafter he is of very little value to the Rajapaksas politically. <\/p>\n

Infamous Karapicha\/Karuveppilai Treatment<\/b><\/p>\n

Furthermore Maithripala Sirisena is fast becoming a political liability to Mahinda Rajapaksa. There may come a time when the Rajapaksas give the infamous \u201cKarapincha\/Karuveppilai\u201d treatment to Sirisena. If and when that happens the ranks of Chandrika , Ranil and even Mahinda may shout jubilantly saying poetic justice has been done.!<\/p>\n

D.B.S.Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This Article was written for the DBS Jeyaraj Column in the “Daily Mirror” of January 19, 2019. It can be accessed here-<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.dailymirror.lk\/article\/Mahinda-Maithripala-and-the-Presidential-Poll-Candidacy-Stakes-161305.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The greatest political surprise or upset in Sri Lankan politics last year was the political re-alignment of President Maithripala Sirisena and Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In a bizarre political twist Maithripala joined forces with his ex-leader to launch an unconstitutional and undemocratic attempt to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replace him with …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Why Mahinda Is Reluctant To Endorse Maithripala As Presidential Election Candidate For 2019 Polls’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62617"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62637,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62617\/revisions\/62637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}