Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena yesterday said at a press conference that a group of UNP politicians including members of the Southern Provincial Council and local bodies in the Southern Province would shortly join the SLFP.

He said that 18 UNP councillors would switch their allegiance to the SLFP-led coalition. Some of them would pledge their support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa next week. The rest would join in batches in the run up to the SPC polls.

Responding to The Island queries, Minister Yapa said that the incumbent SP Councillors would contest the SPC polls on the government ticket.

Asked whether the dissident UNP parliamentary group, in which Abeywardena, too, is a member, had engineered the planned crossovers, the minister said that he had now taken SLFP membership. He said that negotiations with the rebel group representing the Southern Province had been concluded and the government was ready to accommodate the group.

Abeywardena rejected a claim that Namal Rajapaksa would contest the forthcoming SPC polls as the UPFA’s Chief Ministerial candidate. He said that the President hadn’t indicated that his son would contest the southern polls.

Declining to comment on speculation that Justin Galapaththy, Opposition Leader of the SPC would be among the rebel group, the Matara District MP said a former parliamentarian now in the SPC had pledged his support to the government.

The government move comes on the heels of Sagala Ratnayake, UNP MP succeeding Galapaththy as the Matara District UNP leader.

Minister Yapa said that the mass crossovers would be part of the political strategy to further destabilise the UNP in the immediate aftermath of elections to the Uva PC. He said that a range of projects now being implemented in Uva and Hambantota districts with overseas assistance, particularly from China and Iran would bring immense benefits to the people. The government would have overwhelming victories both at Uva PC and the South due to accelerated development now taking place, he said.

He ridiculed UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent pledge to build an international airport at Wellawaya in the Moneragala District as the UPFA had already taken action in this regard. He said that as the government was in the process of building an airport at Maththala in the Hambantota District, Wickremesinghe’s latest pledge was nothing but propaganda.