Aluvihare brothers in the fray
UPFA confident, JVP likely to lose its solitary seat
JVP nominee on UPFA headed manape list in 2004
Parliamentary Polls 2010-Matale District

The JVP will find it difficult to retain the only seat in the Matale electoral District it had won at the last parliamentary polls in April 2004, at the forthcoming election. Mrs. Sujatha Alahakoon (JVP nominee on the UPFA list), who polled the highest number of preference votes at the last parliamentary polls may not be able to keep her slot whether the Marxist party contested on its own or through an Opposition alliance.

Matale being one of the smallest electoral districts, only five members are elected to Parliament. In keeping with the Parliamentary Elections Act, three candidates more than the number elected to a particular electoral district are nominated to each of the 22 districts in Sri Lanka. The Central Province comprises Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya electoral/administrative districts.

Mrs. Alahakoon yesterday told ‘The Island’ that she would definitely contest the general election, though they were yet to be told whether the JVP would contest on its own or field candidates on the common list. Responding to our queries, she said that there was a possibility of all Opposition political parties, including the UNP and JVP contesting on a common list depending on the success of ongoing negotiations. But should they fail to reach an agreement in time for nominations scheduled to begin tomorrow (February 19), the JVP would form an alternative alliance. Nominations end on February 26.

A three-cornered fight for Matale comprising Laggala, Dambulla, Matale and Rattota electorates will deny the JVP an opportunity to retain the seat it won at the last election. Opposition sources told ‘The Island’ that had they fielded candidates on a common list, the JVP wouldn’t be able to field more than one person.

Mrs Alahakoon expressed confidence that everything would be finalised within the next 48 hours.

In the event of the JVP and UNP being in one alliance, the former may succeed in retaining the Matale slot depending on the support extended by UNP voters.

Mrs. Alahakoon polled 57,234 preferential votes at the last poll. She was followed by Janaka Bandara Tennakoon and Rohana Dissanayake, who polled 54,711 and 37,091 preferential votes each. The Remaining two slots went to Ranjith Aluvihare (47,152) and his father Alick Aluvihare (39, 649) of the UNP.

Former MP Ranjith Aluvihare yesterday told ‘The Island’ that Nandimithra Ekanayake, who filled the vacancy created by the death of his father, switched his allegiance to the ruling coalition to give the UPFA a majority. Acknowledging they were yet to finalise nominations, Aluvihare said that the Opposition could secure three out of the five seats if the government ensured a free and fair election.

Nandimithra Ekanayake, who had switched sides on several occasions, will contest Matale on the UPFA ticket.

Referring to the violence unleashed by UPFA goons at the recently concluded presidential polls, he said that the President shouldn’t allow his ministers and their henchmen to cause chaos. He accused the government of jeopardising security of Opposition MPs by withdrawing police bodyguards assigned to them. "Our lives are at stake," he said while pointing out that the likes of Wimal Weerawansa moved with heavy security, though being an ordinary MP. He criticised the IGP’s move to withdraw security, consequent to the dissolution of Parliament.

He said that nominations would be finalised once the Opposition decided on the pre-poll electoral alliance. According to him, whatever the arrangement, the UNP would field five candidates leaving the remaining three slots to be filled by alliance members. Ranjith Aluvihare will join the fray along with his brother, Wasantha, Sanjeeva Kaviratne, Rohana Bandaranaike and Mohammed Ibrahim, Opposition leader of the Ukuwela Pradeshiya Sabha.

He said that Local Government and Provincial Council Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon and his son, Prameetha (Central Provincial Council member) caused mayhem during the presidential polls. He alleged that under the minister’s supervision, UPFA goons had chased out Opposition agents, including three women agents at some counting centres. He alleged that the women were humiliated, abused and forced out of the counting centres. The government should be ashamed of what had happened in Matale, he said adding that the UPFA directed violence at the Opposition as part of their overall strategy to deny victory to Opposition candidate General (retd) Sarath Fonseka.

At the last parliamentary polls, the UNP and the UPFA shared two electorates each, though the latter secured the district due to its comfortable victory in the Dambulla electorate. The UNP won Matale and Rattota seats while the UPFA took Laggala and Dambulla.

Aluvihare said that the UNP had a good chance of winning the district, though President Mahinda Rajapaksa secured Matale at the recently concluded presidential polls. He said that the UNP had moved the Supreme Court against the re-election of President Rajapaksa as it felt that the government unashamedly violated the law in the run-up to the polls and on the day of polling.

UPFA Matale District leader Minister Tennakoon said that contrary to media reports, his son, Pamitha would not contest the forthcoming polls. Earlier, the SLFP decided that two persons from one family wouldn’t be given nominations. Tennakoon said that his son, a member of the Central Provincial Council would have joined the fray had he been given an opportunity.

He said that the UPFA could win four out of five seats if it could poll over 20,000 votes more than what was obtained at the January 26 parliamentary polls. He said that a substantial number of voters, who had exercised their franchise in support of the Opposition presidential candidate wouldn’t be there. He dismissed allegations that his supporters had engaged in violence during the presidential polls. The UNP had conveniently forgotten what they did during election time. He said that had the Opposition won the presidential polls, they would have targeted UPFA supporters. In fact, the Opposition had planned to unleash violence in Matale after winning the district, he said.