LG polls: JVP set to carve out a bigger role for itself in govt.

By Vishvanath

All major political parties have launched their local government (LG) election campaigns, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake himself leading the NPP’s. None of them, however, has anything new to offer to the electorate.

The Opposition is flaying the government for unfulfilled promises, suppressing dissent and media freedom, and making numerous policy U-turns. The JPV-led NPP is repeating what it said before last year’s elections, lambasting the Opposition and urging the people make the NPP’s victory complete by giving it another mammoth majority in the LG polls scheduled for May 06 so as to enable it to serve the public better. It has also chosen to go on the offensive. Corruption charges have been pressed against some key Opposition figures including former Chief Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has alleged that the government has issued a veiled threat to throw its critics behind bars.

President Dissanayake yesterday declared that some revelations would be made about the Easter Sunday carnage before the sixth anniversary of the tragedy, which is falling on April 21. Serving justice to the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks is one of the main election promises of the NPP, and the prelates of the Catholic Church have said in no uncertain terms that they will be compelled to stage protests in case of an inordinate delay in finding out the masterminds behind the carnage, which claimed more than 275 lives and left over 500 others injured.

The NPP’s electoral victories are still fresh, but they are not without a downside. The government will have to surpass itself in the LG polls or at least retain its electoral performance at the same level if it is to prevent its opponents from claiming that its decline has begun. Besides having to campaign hard to ensure that the Opposition will not be able to turn itself around, the JVP-led NPP has divisive group dynamics to contend with.   

The JVP strategically subdued its Marxist identity to enable the NPP coalition to appeal to a broader base of voters and rally support across the political spectrum. Having captured power, the JVP seems to have felt the need to maintain its identity and consolidate its position in the coalition. Some political commentators have said that the JVP, which allowed more non-JVP candidates to be nominated for last year’s general election, has filled the LG polls nomination lists with its members in a bid to establish itself at the grassroots level through the local councils. They have pointed out that the NPP nomination lists which were submitted but canceled due to the postponement of the LG polls in 2023 had more non-JVP candidates. They are of the view that this is indicative of a cold war between the JVP and others in the NPP coalition.

The problem with competing interests of members of coalitions is that they tend to lead to tension and even spin out of control, threatening the unity of the political alliances, as evident from the fate that befell the SLFP-led United Front in 1975, the SLFP-led UPFA in late 2014, the UNP-led Yahapalana alliance in 2018, and the SLPP in 2022. All mainstream political parties, including the JVP, have suffered splits owing to internal problems.

A glaring instance of the JVP’s core ideology taking precedence over the NPP’s liberal economic policy was the government’s decision against the divestiture of some debt-ridden state-owned enterprises (SOEs) including SriLankan airline. It has allocated funds to the tune of Rs. 20 billion from the 2025 budget for settling the airline’s legacy debt. The government is also reported to have undertaken to revive loss-incurring CWE (Cooperative Wholesale Establishment), which the previous government decided to liquidate in September 2024. These moves are in contravention of the IMF bailout conditions.

Chances of the government being able to turn the above-mentioned SOEs are remote. If so, why has it chosen to try its hands at turning them into profitable ventures? The NPP’s policies are far from Marxist or statist, and the JVP is very likely to alienate its traditional supporters if it allows its ideology to be diluted further. Other leftist parties, such as the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Communist Party became mere appendages of the SLFP as they compromised their Marxist policies in the name of coalition politics. They were left with no alternative but to do so, given the global reality, which caused the policies of even China and Russia to undergo radical changes.

The JVP retained its socialist outlook, but did not gain much electorally until last year, except in 2004, when it joined an SLFP-led UPFA coalition under Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s presidency, and obtained 39 seats in the parliament in that year’s general election. After its pullout from the UPFA, its strength decreased; it had only three seats in the last Parliament. Then, it formed the NPP and succeeded in securing state power.

The JVP however is not without worries. The NPP is far from monolithic. It is a patchwork of ideological differences, as the JVP offshoot, the Frontline Socialist Party has said. It is experiencing a dialectical tension, which could undermine the unity of the ruling coalition. Most of the non-JVP MPs in the NPP government are professionals known for their liberal views and values. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya is the best example. The JVP is known for its cadres’ regimented way of life unlike the other NPP members. So, there is the possibility of the NPP disintegrating and the JVP having to be on its own again. The NPP does not have a traditional vote base as such, and what made its electoral victory possible was a massive protest vote against the established political parties that had been in power. A vast majority of floating voters backed the NPP the same way they had supported the SLPP in 2019 and 2020. Unless the JVP/NPP lives up to the people’s expectations, the government will lose popular support. The JVP is apparently trying to make the most of its fortuitous electoral gains to strengthen its vote bank and fortify its future. Hence its efforts to consolidate itself in the ruling coalition. It has already placed its full-time activists in vital positions in all ministries and other state institutions, according to the FSP.

With the JVP making a not-so-subtle effort to assert its authority within the NPP and carve out a bigger role for itself in governing the country, there could be a discernible shift in the ruling coalition’s style of governance after the upcoming LG polls. provided the NPP’s winning streak continues.