By vishvanath
The outcome of last month’s local government (LG) polls has thrown up quite a few surprises and challenges for all political parties, especially the ruling NPP and the main Opposition party, the SJB. What is reflected in it is that the NPP is still the most popular party, but its popularity is on the wane, and the Opposition has recovered some of the lost ground, but is still not popular enough to be able to make a comeback any time soon.
The NPP expected a mammoth victory in the LG polls like the one it scored in last year’s general election. It underestimated the strength of it political rivals. It won a stunning 159 parliamentary seats out of a total of 225—an unprecedented victory, especially under the proportional representation system, which is believed to bring about weak governments. The SJB and other Opposition parties expected to give the NPP and electoral shock, but its wish did not come true.
Having consolidated its control over the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), the NPP was on cloud nine, expecting to bag a vast majority of the other hung councils, where it scored pluralities and not working majorities last month. The totalnumber of hung councils is 178, and the chairpersons of about 70 of them have been elected. After the conclusion of the LG polls, JVP/NPP leader, President
