By Rathindra Kuruwita
Political dynamics in the North and East had shifted significantly following the decision of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), the leading party representing Tamil interests, to support the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) candidate for the presidency, according to ITAK MP M.A. Sumanthiran, who discussed this development in a recent televised interview.
Asked whether the Tamil electorate in the North and East would be divided among the four main contenders, Sumanthiran said it would not be the case.
“Once we decide to support the SJB Sajith Premadasa, the majority of votes will clearly go to Sajith,” .
He said that, at present, the two major candidates in the race are Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People’s Power (NPP). “We have decided to support Sajith,” he said.
Sumanthiran also dismissed the idea of fielding a common Tamil candidate, calling it a misguided strategy since such a candidate stood no chance of winning the presidency. He noted that P. Ariyanethran contesting the election would not benefit the Tamil community.
“In the 2019 election, we supported Sajith, and we will continue to support him in 2024,” Sumanthiran added, estimating that the Tamil voter base in the North and East consisted of about a million votes. He added that while those votes had previously been split among Sajith, Anura, and Ranil Wickremesinghe, ITAK’s backing of Sajith had now altered the electoral landscape.
“There’s no formal agreement with Sajith,” Sumanthiran said. “We don’t know Anura well, and we know Ranil too well, and that is why we rejected him. Ranil won the Northern vote in the past because Tamils were voting against the Rajapaksas. But now that he’s aligned with the Rajapaksa faction, our people will not support a Ranil-Rajapaksa coalition.”
