President Mahinda Rajapaksa intervened yesterday to thwart an Opposition attempt to engineer further crossovers in the wake of Western Provincial Council (WPC) member, Hirunika Premachandra switching her allegiance to Opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena.
Premachandra announced her move soon after President Rajapaksa and his chief rival Sirisena handed over their nominations for Jan. 8, 2015 election on Monday (Dec 8).
Hirunika, the daughter of slain former People’s Alliance MP, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, polled the highest number of preferential votes (139,034) at the last Western Provincial Council polls. JHU’s Udaya Gammanpila polled 115,638 preferential votes to secure second position.
After having returned from Andhra Pradesh yesterday (Dec. 10) morning, President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressed WPC’s UPFA members at the Colombo residence of WP Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga.
A spokesperson for CM Ranatunga told The Island that President Rajapaksa had walked in as SLFP National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa was meeting the group. The official said that CM Ranatunga had briefed President Rajapaksa regarding the situation.
Among those who had been present were Postal Services Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga’s daughter, Malsha, widely believed to be one of the members approached by Maithripala Sirisena’s camp as well as two SLMC members and representative from Trade and Commerce Minister Rishard Bathurudeen’s political outfit.
President Rajapaksa received an assurance from UPFA group that it would back his re-election campaign.
The WP budget for 2015 was passed on Dec. 4 by a majority of 14 votes with 55 members voting for and 41 against. Eleven members skipped the vote.
SLFP sources said that the Opposition was making a determined bid to undermine UPFA run Provincial Councils, particularly WPC. Sources said that the SLFP leadership was in the process of talking to those who had been approached by the Sirisena’s camp. (By Shamindra Ferdinando)
Source: The Island (Sri Lanka)
