All main political parties in Sri Lanka are experiencing problems, albeit to varying degrees, and some of them even show signs of disintegration. This augurs ill for the country’s democracy, which has come under severe strain, as evident from a spate of mass protests by the proponents of anti-politics, which is on the rise with many people, especially the youth, openly condemning the established political parties and demanding the ouster of all 225 MPs. These warnings signals have unfortunately gone unheeded.
The SLFP is among the political parties torn apart by factionalism. Its founder and slain Prime Minister, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, would turn in his grave if knew the fate that has befallen his beloved party. His wife, Sirimavo, who led the party for more than three decades, would do likewise. It was on her watch that the party began to experience internal disputes.
The SLFP is so divided today that its seniors commemorate its founder separately at different ceremonies. The 63rd death anniversary of SWRD was commemorated at two venues, last Monday (26). Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga commemorated her late father at the Horagolla Bandaranaike Samadhi amidst a gathering of prominent politicians including the dissident SLFP MPs who have accepted ministerial positions in the current administration.
Current SLFP leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena held a ceremony to mark the party founder’s death anniversary, at the BMICH, and only two SLFP MPs—Dayasiri Jayasekera and Shan Wijayalal de Silva—were seen with him. The clash between him and Chandrika came to light once again.
A brief history of SLFP’s conflicts
The SLFP is no stranger to intra-party conflicts, but never has it been as divided as it is today. It suffered a crippling split in 2016, when a group led by the Rajapaksa family broke away to form the SLPP. Another group of dissidents has since left it to join the Nawa Lanka Nidahas Peramuna (NLNP), led by a former SLFP stalwart, Kumara Welgama, MP, who first joined the SLPP, in 2016, and then crossed over to the SJB to contest the last general election from the Kalutara District, after falling out with both the Rajapaksas and Sirisena. Welgama has taken on both Sirisena and the Rajapaksa family. He is backed by Chandrika. Now, the SLFP has had to compete with both the SLPP and the NLNP to prevent a further erosion of its support base.
The SLFP experienced its first internecine dispute following its humiliating defeat at the 1977 general election; it lost power was reduced to eight seats, as opposed to the UNP’s 140 and the TULF’s 18. Sirimavo clashed with her son, Anura, who became the Opposition Leader in 1983, when TULF leader A. Amirthalingam and other Tamil MPs gave up their parliamentary seats in protest against the Sixth constitutional amendment, which requires all MPs to take an oath, pledging to safeguard the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, among other things. Sirimavo had been stripped of her civic rights, and Anura led the SLFP parliamentary group a year back.
In early 1990s, Chandrika, who had left the SLFP in 1980s, together with her late husband Vijaya Kumaratunga, and formed the Bahu Jana Nidahas Peramuna and thereafter the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party, returned to the SLFP’s fold. Anura defected to the UNP in a huff, in 1993, during D. B. Wijetunga’s presidency, became a Cabinet minister and thereafter the Speaker of the Parliament before rejoining the SLFP.
Chandrika, after winning the presidency in 1994, began settling political scores with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had antagonized her after her exit from the SLFP in 1980s, and even tried to prevent her from rejoining the party. They fought an epic battle, so to speak, and finally Rajapaksa prevailed with the help of the SLFP’s old guard and rank and file; he defeated Chandrika’s attempt to prevent the SLFP from nominating him to contest the 2005 presidential election. After becoming the President, Mahinda struck back. He did not appoint Anura the Prime Minister because the latter had not been supportive of the former at the 2005 presidential election. His choice for the premiership was Ratnasiri Wickramanayake. He antagonized Chandrika so much that she chose to support the UNP-led Opposition, and engineered his defeat in 2015 by having Sirisena contest the presidential election. Thereafter, Sirisena and Chandrika fell out, and today the latter is all out to oust the former with the help of NLNP leader Welgama and other SLFP dissidents. The presence of rebel SLFP MPs at Horagolla on Monday may be considered an indication that they were ready to switch their allegiance to Chandrika.
SLFP at present
Two party symbols used to dominate Sri Lankan politics for decades—the Hand and the Elephant, representing the SLFP and the UNP, respectively. A few decades ago, the UNP and the SLFP were so strong that nobody thought there was any space for the emergence of a third political force. But political vicissitudes over the decades, the Proportional Representation (PR), which promotes the growth of coalitions, etc., have taken their toll on the two parties, which are not shadows of their former selves today owing to crippling internal disputes and splits; their off-shoots have become stronger than they, both politically and electorally.
It is not only the Sri Lankan economy that our political leaders have mismanaged; they have ruined their own parties as well. The UNP has been reduced to a single appointed MP, and due to a political freak, its leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has become the President elected by the beleaguered MPs of the ruling SLPP. Its breakaway group, the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) obtained 54 seats at the last general election.
The SJB came into being due to a clash between UNP leader Wickremesinghe and his deputy Sajith Premadasa, who is the current Opposition Leader. The SLFP had to ride on the coattails of its off-shoot, the SLPP, to secure 14 seats at the 2020 general election. The SLPP was formed by the Rajapaksa family and its loyalists as an alternative to the SLFP, whose leader, Sirisena, closed ranks with the UNP in 2015 to become the President and form a national government.
Off-shoots also in trouble
Now, the SJB and the SLPP are also experiencing trouble. Nothing is so certain as the unexpected in politics, which could be as erratic as the weather. When the SLPP ruined things for itself and suffered the first split with a group of dissident MPs led by Wimal Weerawansa, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Udaya Gammanpila breaking ranks with it, many thought its loss would be the SLFP’s gain.
SLFP leader Sirisena made overtures to the rebel SLPP MPs and had several rounds of talks with them, much to the consternation of the SLPP leaders, especially the National Organizer and Chief Strategist of the SLPP, Basil Rajapaksa, who engineered crossovers from the SLFP parliamentary group to strengthen the SLPP government.
The SJB has lost two of its prominent MPs—Manusha Nanayakkara and Harin Fernando—to the SLPP-UNP administration. The UNP is trying to eat into the SJB’s support base and vote bank in a bid to make a comeback. President Wickremesinghe is said to be in a position to win over the former UNPers who are currently in the SJB, and rebuild his party.
However, there is no guarantee that Wickremesinghe will be able to turn the UNP around and win future elections by virtue of being the President. He owes his elevation to the highest position in the land to the SLPP, and does not have a popular mandate as such. President Sirisena was elected by the people in 2015, unlike Wickremesinghe, but he could not strengthen the SLFP. Whether Wickremesinghe will succeed in rebuilding the UNP or face the same fate as the SLPP leaders, who have become hugely unpopular, remains to be seen.
Fox in a hole
Sirisena is blessed with a great deal of political acumen, and his innocent look is only a façade. He has outfoxed veteran politicians such as Mahinda, Chandrika and Ranil. He never shows his hand, and his moves are highly unpredictable. Whoever would have thought that he would leave the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in late 2014, when President Rajapaksa’s popularity was very high, join forces with the UNP, become the President, the following year, launch a witch-hunt against the Rajapaksa family, fight with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, throw in his lot with the Rajapaksas again, and then take them on?
Sirisena’s style of politicking exemplifies the saying that there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in politics; there are only permanent interests. He is driven by expediency and nothing else. His success was due to a combination of his elusive mind, cunning and luck, which however has shown signs of running out. The Fox from Polonnaruwa seems to have got into a hole eventually.
The SLPP’s popularity is at its nadir although it has managed to retain its parliamentary majority with the help of some crossovers from the SJB and the SLFP. If the SLFP had remained united and strong, it would have been able to attract those who are leaving the SLPP. It is no longer attractive to ambitious politicians who thirst for power and the frustrated voters who wish for regime change; they need a party capable of winning. They are also in a dilemma because all main parties are faction-ridden. The JVP has remained united and its popularity is said to be on the rise, but not even the most optimistic political observers amongst us will expect it to form a government under its own steam. It fared extremely well at the 2004 parliamentary election, and obtained 39 seats, but it did so as a constituent of the UPFA led by the then President Kumaratunga.
The people, who are fed up with the entire political system, will have to vote for the best of a bad lot at the next election, or spoil their votes to express their displeasure at all of them. The SLFP has, due to its failure to sort out its internal problems, lost an opportunity to offer itself as an alternative to the current dispensation, shore up its image, and improve its electoral performance.
