‘Our fate shouldn’t depend on disastrous leadership tussle’

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Former parliamentarian and UNP working committee member Ashu Marasinghe yesterday (18) said that the party would be totally eliminated unless the current leadership swiftly reached a consensus with the main Opposition, the SJB.

“We are in such a pathetic situation, immediate amalgamation of the UNP and the SJB is required,” Marasinghe said, urging both UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa to take a step back.

In a brief interview with The Island, the ex-MP declared that a section of the decision-making body pushed for merger of the two parties ahead of the general election but was thwarted by a small but influential group consisting of former parliamentarians.

Had Wickremesinghe listened to us, the party could have averted an unprecedented debacle at the general election,  theWickremesinghe loyalist said. The dejected politician stressed that the crux of the matter in the run up to both the presidential elections held on Sept. 21 and the general election on Nov. 14 had been whether the UNP and SJB should contest under the ‘elephant’ symbol.

A section of the UNP, in early 2020, secured the Election Commission’s recognition as the SJB.

But, unfortunately, both leaderships had failed to comprehend what Marasinghe called developing ground realities and relentlessly pursued irrational strategies, he said, disclosing how he personally tried to convince the party leader to contest the general election under the ‘elephant’ symbol. Responding to another query, Marasinghe said that former parliamentarians Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Navin Dissanayake, Rosy Senanayake and Harin Fernando, too, pushed for the ‘elephant’ symbol.

Marasinghe entered Parliament on the UNP National List at the 2015 general election. He contested the 2020 general unsuccessfully. The UNP that obtained 106 seats at the 2015 general election was reduced to just one National List seat at the following election in 2020.

“We had that particular discussion at the Flower Road Office of the leader. However, the group opposed to our proposal succeeded in convincing Wickremesinghe,” Marasinghe said. Pointing out that Wickremesinghe had been able to secure nearly 2.3 mn votes at the presidential and was placed third in that contest, Marasinghe said they could obtain just 500,000 a couple of weeks later. The combined UNP-rebel Pohottuwa faction had been reduced to just five MPs whereas the SJB secured 40 seats though their tally at the previous general election was 54.

The NPP achieved the unthinkable 159 seats – the first 2/3 majority under the PR system that had been introduced in 1989, he said.

Having failed to convince the leader, Marasinghe decided against contesting the general election. “Of course, I exercised my franchise in the Colombo district,” Marasinghe said had they contested under the ‘elephant’ symbol the party could have secured at least one seat each from all electoral districts, in addition to two to three National List slots.

Declaring that they could have obtained two seats in the Gampaha district, the ex-parliamentarian said during the general election campaign not only in Gampaha but in other areas as well, UNPers warned that their support would depend on the merger of the UNP with the SJB or the party fielding candidates under the ‘elephant’ symbol. “I brought this situation to the notice of the party leader, warning him of dire consequences of ignoring stark warning. But, Wickremesinghe didn’t relent,” Marasinghe said.

Acknowledging that the National People’s Power (NPP), under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leadership, had been destined to win the general election comfortably, Marasinghe asserted, however the NPP could have been deprived of the unprecedented 2/3 majority if they contested under the ‘elephant’ symbol instead of the ‘gas cylinder’ of the New Democratic Front (NDF).

The NDF previously had a ‘swan’ symbol and changed it to the ‘gas cylinder’ at the last moment to contest this year’s general election. Field Marshal Fonseka, Maithripala Sirisena and Sajith Premadasa contested the 2010, 2015 and 2019 presidential election, respectively, on the NDF ticket.

At the 2024 presidential election, the SJB leader polled 4.3 mn votes and Wickremeinghe nearly 2.3, therefore they had jointly obtained well over 6 mn votes whereas Dissanayake managed to get only 5.6 mn, Marasinghe said. That should have influenced the UNP and SJB to reach agreement on a common front against the NPP but a section of the party continued to play an agenda of their own much to the disappointment of supporters.

The SJB’s presidential election tally dropped from 4.3 mn to 1.9 mn and Wickremesinghe from 2.3 mn to 500,000 because genuine UNPers hated both parties for their inflexible stand, Marasinghe said. He found fault with former ministers Sagala Ratnayake, Vajira Abeywardena and Manusha Nanayakkara and ex-MP Saman Ratnapriya for not backing desperate efforts to contest under the ‘elephant’ symbol.

The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) won a seat in the Nuwara Eliya district on the UNP ticket, Marasinghe said. “The CWC picked our symbol. Thanks to their decision, there is one UNP MP in the new Parliament,” Marasinghe said. The UNP leadership couldn’t absolve itself of the responsibility for the despondent situation the party was in, Amarasinghe said.

Thanking the SLPP party for choosing Wickremesinghe as the President in the wake of ‘Aragalaya,’ and declaration of bankruptcy status, Marasinghe said that 2.3 mn people voted for him because they really appreciated his presidency. “If not for Wickremesinghe, the country could have gone up in flames. That is the truth. The NPP, too, knows that,” he said.

But, Wickremesinghe couldn’t have rightfully earned a fresh presidential term only because the UNP and SJB failed to reach consensus on how to contest the presidential poll, he said. The former parliamentarian claimed that the total number of voters who hadn’t exercised their franchise at the general election increased to 5.3 mn from 3.5 mn primarily due to sizable drop in the support for the UNP and the SJB. “We lost 1.7 mn votes whereas the SJB lost 2.4 mn within the space of just weeks. In a way, we should be grateful that they gave us altogether 46 seats (40+5+ CWC 1 in Nuwara Eliya.”

The NPP benefited immensely from ‘Aragalaya.’ In fact, ‘Aragalaya’ gave them an opportunity to harness anti-Pohottuwa votes though the UNP, too, played a significant role throughout the campaign to drive President Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of office.

When asked whether he was ready to face the consequences for being critical of the top leadership, Marasinghe said that the party was paying a huge price for ill-fated decisions. The NPP proved in style that it could work with minorities without being overwhelmed by them.

Securing 11 seats from Northern and Eastern electoral districts, including Jaffna, underscored the significance of their stand, Marasinghe said. There had been instances when we went to the extent of discussing financial inducements for some, the former MP said, adding that the UNP could afford to take remedial measures before the Election Commission announced Local Government polls early next year followed by the long delayed Provincial Council polls.

Marasinghe insisted that the fate of their party shouldn’t be decided on a leadership tussle, adding that Wickremesinghe shouldn’t have harped on the NPP fielding inexperienced candidates. The UNP leader’s bid to portray them as novice in politics prompted the electorate to ponder what the experienced set of politicians had done.

Marasinghe warned his colleagues they should be prepared to continue in the Opposition perhaps for 10 years if President Dissanayake prudently managed the economy in line with the Economic Transformation Act adopted by the last Parliament. “That is the reality we have to face.”