SLPP’s seventh anniversary and future of Lankan politics

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), founded in November 2016, celebrated its seventh anniversary yesterday with SLPP Leader, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Party’s founder Basil Rajapaksa in attendance at its office in Battaramulla. The Party reached dazzling heights of success shortly after its founding, sweeping the Local Authorities election of 2018, the Presidential elections in 2019 followed by the parliamentary elections of 2020. 

Even the most seasoned political pundits were taken aback by the spectacular electoral success of the SLPP. Many have attributed the success of the SLPP to the total failure of the ‘Yahapalanaya’ Government under President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe when they governed from 2015 to 2019 while others have opined that the constitutional crisis of 2018 and the Easter Sunday terror attacks led to a major shift in support for the SLPP and away from the ‘Yahapalanaya’ Government. 

Even after the shock defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2015 Presidential election, he remained popular with the public and one reason for the SLPP’s success is his personal popularity. Hence when the SLPP was formed, mainly to accommodate him and other members of his family, it was well received by a majority of the people who were exhausted by the wrangling between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe who lost the goodwill of the voters not too long after they were voted into office. The election results from the three elections held after the SLPP was formed shows the popularity of the SLPP at the time. However, all that changed last year after Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was elected President in 2019, was forced out of office due to public protests while Mahinda Rajapaksa who was Prime Minister was forced to give up his position as well.

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since July last year when the Aragalaya forced the President out of office with the SLPP having to turn to the leader of the UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe to salvage the country from the utter mess that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, ably assisted by the SLPP, left the country in. The SLPP MPs in Parliament voted overwhelmingly to elect Wickremesinghe to the highest office in the land and its members now sit in Cabinet with him in what is an uneasy arrangement but as it suits the interest of all partners in the Government, it is sitting well for now.

With Presidential elections due next year, it looks unlikely that the SLPP will back Wickremesinghe to be the Party’s candidate with its leaders hinting they plan to place their bets on a businessman turned politician. Such claims may also be a diversionary tactic as the party calculates who would be the best person for it to back so that they can retain power.

The reality of the SLPP is that its only objective when it was formed in 2016 and till today is to ensure that the Rajapaksas can claim the throne as the country’s new political dynasty and follow in the heels of the Senanayake/Bandaranaike dynasties. Basil Rajapaksa, who is hailed as the great “political strategist”, did a good job of enticing the people with a magical portion of communal politics that appeals to the Sinhalese Buddhist in particular. It was a great success till the same voters who propelled them to the highest offices were crushed under the high cost of living, shortages, etc. Then they turned their wrath on the same politicians who they had heaped praise on not too long ago.

The Rajapaksas are seasoned players in Sri Lanka’s political field and are readying for the next round as elections draw near. The SLPP mouthpieces which could hardly manage a whimper for several months after the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa can be seen and heard once again. Their strategy is to once again confuse the public playing a double game by taking credit when Government plans go well and distancing itself when things go badly.

Political parties and politicians survive only as long as the public are on their side. The SLPP and its leaders are well aware of it and no doubt, will have a few tricks up their sleeve. To what extent they will succeed will depend on the voters of this country.