Sajith speaks out…is it too little, too late now?

“Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.”

~Joseph Story

Diehards

In the immediate aftermath of the defection of the Kurunegala District Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekera, from

the ranks of the United National Party, the chaos that ensued caused many heartburns and uncertainties among the lamenting diehard UNP supporters. Those whose loyalties were unshakeable have been shaken; some might have felt thoroughly let down or betrayed and some may have decided to bid goodbye to political activism altogether, especially those who claim birth and dwelling in the Kurunegala district.

Without fail

Kurunegala district in particular and the Wayamba province in general have played a very pivotal and decisive role in the elections that have been held since Independence. The political party that mustered a larger portion of the vote in the Province had formed the government, always without fail. This mattered most particularly in the era of first-past-the-post system. But with the introduction of the Proportional Representation (PR) system, the political dynamics changed and the changes so occurred took their toll on the not-so-wealthy candidates as restrained cash flow at the time of electioneering had an enormously negative effect on the campaign that one could conduct.

Sound election campaign

In this new context of electioneering under the auspices of the PR scheme, ‘name-recognition’ became the most

domineering factor in attracting votes. The very size of the area one candidate had to cover in an election, the geographical and social differences he or she had to grapple with, the number of voters one had to canvas and the length and breadth of the district he or she had to traverse made a transformational change in the electioneering engineering. The cost factor alone is formidable and no candidate of mean wealth could launch a successful campaign and see it to a desired finish. A reasonably sound election campaign for a district as against an electorate which is more homogenous in the spread of caste, creed and religion- three critical factors that dictate the structure, content and style of the campaign- is consistently more difficult to plan and execute, given the diversity and the largeness of the area.

Cash power 

This is where cash-power is playing a very decisive part. With the expansion in television and radio advertising, what increased was not only the width and breadth of the viewer/listener contingent; it has also had a remarkable and spiraling effect on the prices that the television and radio channels started charging. These cost over-runs had a nasty effect on the spending power of the candidates and the less affluent ones had to resort to their traditional modes of campaigning. They had to depend on posters, pocket meetings, house-to-house canvassing etc., although the wealthier candidates too had these traditional modes well-oiled and running smoothly because their campaign budgets had already made adequate provisions.

Dayasiri of  super star quality  

Taken in this context, Dayasiri Jayasekera’s crossover to the Government would rank among the most extraordinary in the history of post-Independent Sri Lanka. The very ‘money-power’ alone that Dayasiri could command, especially in the immediate aftermath of his defection and the superlative popularity he has been enjoying, not as a UNP parliamentarian- even though he has gained much prominence as an able speaker and a debater in Parliament- but more as a popular ‘super star’ in the likes of some mega stars who are usually identified with the cinema and the music industry, cannot be underestimated. Dayasiri’s defection itself cannot be understated. In terms of resultant political effect, it is even comparable to the ‘expulsion’ of UNP giants who were thrown out of the party in 1992 after the abortive impeachment motion against President R Premadasa.

Sajith finds his voice 

In this chaotic environment, Sajith Premadasa seems to have found his vocal cords, again. Via his reported reference to Dayasiri Jayasekera’s cross over to the SLFP, the UNP MP and one-time Deputy Leader, Sajith Premadasa has obviously given vent to the anger and frustration experienced these days by thousands of UNP supporters. Addressing a public gathering in the Tissamaharama electorate on Saturday (27), Premadasa alleged that the party leadership had unfairly treated him on many occasions. Stressing that he did not approve of Jayasekera’s move, the Hambantota District MP said that all his efforts to remedy the situation had been in vain.

UNP is now just and appendage to its leader 

However, Sajith’s assertion that Dayasiri could have stayed on and fought for the desired aims and goals within the Party may be an argument that has lost its fundamental premise some time ago. The agitational campaign undertaken and executed with no success whatsoever, by the so-called “reformists’ group’ some months ago has come to absolute zero. The United National Party, as it is constituted today as an appendage to its leader, could not stem the free-fall in the elections, especially after the last Presidential Elections in 2010. With each result being worse than the preceding one, the desertion of those who show potential and promise for greater heights within the political field such as Dayasiri, from the ranks is inevitable. Dayasiri was not the first and he won’t be the last. Yet the burden on people like Sajith Premadasa and Karu Jayasuriya who have shown potential for leadership in the UNP will be to keep the Party from suffering an irredeemable loss, something like total demise or death.

When a moment comes…

If it were to come-Wayamba and Central Province PC elections are looming to carry such ominous signs- history’s cruel and harsh judgment would not spare Karu and Sajith, no matter what they say and do without taking that critical and decisive plunge. Sometimes it is perfectly justifiable and even reasonable to be rash in politics. Jawaharlal Nehru in his famous, “At the stroke of midnight hour” speech said: “A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new; when an age ends; and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance.”

Same old weary path

Nehru’s allusion to the ‘moment’ was to India’s emergence as a free nation, but when one relates that to an individual leader, it is indeed valid and even more appropriate in the current context. Both Sajith and Karu, if they are really interested in the continuation of the United National Party as a vital instrument in guiding of Sri Lanka’s destinies in the future, would be well advised to follow a more aggressive and creative course than treading on the same old weary path.

Strange irony

The strange irony is that the people, the authentic UNP supporters, are way ahead of their leaders, more aggressive and creative, more focused and demanding than their leaders. But all is not lost. The UNP-thought flow is not an aberrational line of thinking; it is the mainstream political thinking in the country although at present it is being represented or expressed, or more accurately misrepresented and distorted, by the current leader and his corrupt cohorts and henchmen.

 

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