The political frying pans of Sajith Premadasa’s Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Ranil Wickremesinghe’s National Democratic Front (NDF), and Namal Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) are now sizzling with kernels of drama.
They are teetering on the brink of a full-blown popcorn explosion. For those lucky enough to score a front-row seat via the National List, this is peak political theatre. And yes, not only can you afford the snack, but you might land a seat in Parliament while you are at it.
With the Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led National People’s Power (NPP) sweeping the general election with a thunderous two-thirds majority, the once-proud SJB and NDF have descended into a political circus of squabbles. Desperate party loyalists, now stripped of their electoral glory, are tripping over each other in a frantic scramble for the consolation prize—a seat in Parliament.
Seismic shift
For many, it’s more like a frantic game of musical chairs—only this time, the music has stopped and they’re still awkwardly dancing. On a political landscape that has shaken them to their core, the once-confident players now stumble, caught off-guard by the seismic shift in power that has left them reeling and scrambling for relevance.
Sajith Premadasa said that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) is grappling with the harsh reality of its plummeting voter base, which nosedived from 4.3 million to a mere 1.9 million in the last election. Reflecting on the crushing defeat, Premadasa acknowledged the party’s failure to win the hearts of the people and announced efforts to identify where their campaigns went awry.
Adding to his woes is the challenge of filling five National List seats in Parliament, with 25 hopefuls vying for the spots. Premadasa has assured that the selection process will be guided by “peaceful deliberations” among party members, steering clear of prioritising those who either won or lost in their electorates.
The SJB has appointed Ranjith Madduma Bandara as a National List MP from the Samagi Jana Balavegaya.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that several United National Party (UNP) heavyweights have called upon Premadasa to assume the leadership of the UNP for a fresh political journey. However, Premadasa was quick to dismiss the idea, asserting that he has no intention of joining hands with the UNP or taking up its leadership for personal political gain.
He said that the voters had clearly rejected candidates who abandoned their original parties for self-serving ambitions, hinting at a broader disapproval of political opportunism. Premadasa’s stance underscores his intention to rebuild the SJB independently, though the road ahead is fraught with challenges as the party tries to regain its footing in the country’s political landscape.
Ravi K’s resurgence
At the NDF, the drama is as juicy. Ravi Karunanayake’s re-emergence in Parliament, courtesy of a National List appointment, has sparked internal squabbles. His return has been met with suspicion and side-eyes, especially from Wickremesinghe’s camp, which now faces the dual challenge of managing Karunanayake’s influence and salvaging public trust.
When the UNP high-ups thought the weather was oppressive, Ravi Karunanayake has come in like a hot mess waiting to unfold.
Wickremesinghe may take Karunanayake’s resurgence as a potential challenge to his leadership, particularly if Karunanayake garners support from within the coalition. Karunanayake’s influence among certain party factions could undermine Wickremesinghe’s control, further fuelling their discord.
Karunanayake’s re-entry symbolises a test of Wickremesinghe’s ability to manage competing interests and maintain his political dominance. As Wickremesinghe navigates these challenges, how he handles Karunanayake’s role in Parliament will reveal much about his political strategy and ability to maintain control in a fragmented political landscape.
On the contrary allowing Karunanayake to return to Parliament risks alienating voters who demand clean governance, potentially derailing Wickremesinghe’s efforts to consolidate power and rebuild public trust. The New Democratic Front (NDF) was formed by the United National Party (UNP), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the ‘Podujana Eksath Nidahas Peramuna’ to contest the election.
Notable departure
For the 2024 Parliamentary election on November 14, the NDF ‘s adoption of the gas cylinder as its symbol was a notable departure from more traditional political insignia. However, this rebranding failed to resonate with voters, leading to the coalition’s humiliating performance. The NDF was reduced to securing only one directly elected seat and two National list seats in Parliament. This outcome reflects the coalition’s stark decline in public support. In fact this is one of its worst performances in recent political history.
As a result the National list seats became a focal point of contention within the NDF, with leaders, including President Wickremesinghe and Ravi Karunanayake, clashing over appointments.
The NDF, led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, faced a significant blow at the last general election, securing only three parliamentary seats. This outcome reflects the coalition’s stark decline in public support, marking one of its worst performances in recent political history.
Here’s the breakdown:
The Opposition’s attempt to discredit the Government by accusing it of recycling the same IMF program championed by Ranil Wickremesinghe is a moot point. That ship has already sailed.
This tired narrative was used during the Presidential and general election campaigns, yet it’s clear that the political climate has moved beyond this.
The strategy of the defeated electoral candidates, or more accurately those who were bulldozed out of Parliament by the people in the last elections — to discredit the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) has not gained any traction.
Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, the SLPP-turned-DNF loyalist and former minister, seemed determined to ensure no one missed the slogan: “Nobody can change the IMF program.” He was a one-man PR machine during the last Presidential election campaign, tirelessly preaching that even Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s NPP would have no choice but to follow the exact same economic blueprint. This dire warning was blasted across every conceivable platform—from bulldog editions to primetime TV—carefully orchestrated to whip up public hysteria and deliver a sharp jab at the NPP.
The ploy was clear: implant in the public’s mind a terrifying vision of economic apocalypse under a JVP-led Government. The imagery was straight out of Sri Lanka’s worst nightmares: blackouts, crippling shortages, and queues stretching into eternity for LP gas, fuel, and food. And just to make sure no one missed the point, Sajith Premadasa’s SJB and Ranil Wickremesinghe’s NDF gleefully joined the chorus, amplifying the rhetoric to fever pitch.
But alas, the public didn’t take the bait. Voters, it seemed, were well aware of the game plan—a transparent attempt to demonise the NPP and conjure chaos where none existed. The narrative, while dramatic, fell flat.
The irony? Both the ‘gas cylinder’ and ‘Telephone’ candidates—themselves symbols of a bloated political elite—conveniently forgot their starring roles in the nation’s economic tragedy. These were the same actors who presided over the dark days of bankruptcy: families scrambling for essentials, children fainting from hunger, and parents unable to afford even one meal a day. While the people suffered, they luxuriated in their perks, devouring public funds with reckless abandon.
Master stroke
The smear campaign’s master stroke was the insinuation that the NPP would abandon the ‘sacred’ IMF agreement, throwing the country back into ruin. Never mind that NPP leaders had repeatedly stated during rallies that they were prepared to work with the IMF to steer Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. Facts, after all, don’t play well in a fear-fuelled narrative.
In the end, this whole performance may have been better suited for a reality show than a Presidential campaign. The real ‘elephants in the room’ were those pointing fingers, blissfully ignoring the public’s glaring memory of who was truly responsible for Sri Lanka’s collapse.
The people are well aware that IMF program is an agreement between the Sri Lankan State and the IMF, and it must be adhered to, and it was not a playbook in the hands of Wickremesinghe or Sajith Premadasa. The IMF program was put in place by President Ranil Wickremesinghe who took up the reins in the ashes of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Presidency following the latter’s epic exit from the Presidency. Although Wickremesinghe was grinding through the leftover years of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa through a Parlimentary mandate, he played an important role in stabilising some aspects of the country’s economy, while fishing MPs from the ruling party SLPP to satisfy his political ambitions.
It is truly heartwarming to see that some candidates from both the SJB and the glitzy troupe who made the ever-popular ‘cross-over’ from the Mahinda Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna to hitch a ride on Wickremesinghe’s Gas Cylinder (NDF), still feel the need to wave this old, tired narrative like a flag of hope.
Wickremesinghe now finds himself juggling a sizzling plate of hot potatoes, as his ‘gas cylinder’ symbol has exploded one too many times at his political home, Sirikotha. The fallout from the NDF’s underwhelming performance has left him scrambling to maintain control.
As the dust settles, Sri Lanka’s political landscape faces an inevitable reckoning. The SJB and the NDFmust now grapple with the harsh reality of their diminished relevance. Once powerful political entities, they now stand at the crossroads, forced to confront the public’s disillusionment and their own waning influence in a dramatically shifting political environment.
