Fourteen members, including two ministers of the 44-member Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council are in the fray at the forthcoming parliamentary election.

They are vying for 19 slots in the province-10 in Ratnapura and 9 in Kegalle. Among the other candidates are 18 members, who had represented the Sabaragamuwa PC earlier. The Province comprises Ratnapura and Kegalle electoral districts, two of the UPFA strongholds.

Political sources said that several councillors could enter Parliament at the April 8 general election, while unsuccessful candidates could return to the UPFA-run Sabaragamuwa PC.

Sabaragamuwa PC Ministers, Janaka Wakkumbura and T. Ranjith de Soysa are on the UPFA Ratnapura district list along with Chief Government Whip Bhanu Munipriya and member Sany Rohana Kodituwakku. They are all contesting from Ratnapura.

The UNP is fielding four of its Sabaragamuwa councillors, including Opposition Leader Ranjan Ramanayake. Other contestants are A. A. Wijetunga, P. Abeynayake and Siripala Kiriella. They too are contesting from Ratnapura.

Chameera Koswatte, the only JVPer elected at the last PC election is contesting on the JVP-led DNA (Democratic National Alliance) ticket. Priyantha Ranjith Kumara is the other JVPer in the PC who is contesting on the DNA ticket from Kegalle. Under defeated presidential election candidate Gen. (retd) Sarath Fonseka’s leadership, the DNA is contesting all 22 electoral districts, though it is unlikely to impress.

Y. G. Padmasiri, the Leader of the House is contesting from Kegalle on the UPFA ticket.

Chief Opposition Whip Thusitha Wijemanne, Sujith Sanjaya Perera and W. Somadasa are contesting from Kegalle on the UNP ticket.

Sabaragamuwa Governor Janaka Priyantha Bandara is on the UPFA National List, though he can never be certain whether he’ll be accommodated. Political sources told The Island that about half of the 29 nominees in the UPFA National List would be disappointed.

Minister Athauda Seneviratne, who leads the UPFA in Kegalle had been the first Opposition Leader of the Sabaragamuwa PC. Subsequently he held the post of the Chief Minister of the Council. H. R. Mithrapala (UPFA-Kegalle list), too, had been an Opposition Leader of the council while junior Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Lalith Dissanayake had launched their political careers at the Sabaragamuwa Council.

A. D. Champika Premadasa (UNP-Kegalle) had represented the council. Former JVP councillors, Gamini Ratnayake, Kamal Nandasena, Premasiri, Dharmapala Rajapaksa, Sisira Kumara Sarathchandra and D. A. Buddhisena are contesting from Kegalle on the DNA ticket.

Sources said that Pavitra Vanniarachchi, Jayatissa Ranaweera, Deepal Gunasekera, A. M. D. Rajan (all UPFA) and Ajith Kumara Maddegama (UNP) and Pushpakumara Dissanayake, A. K. Sarath Kumara and Ariyadasa Gamaahige, too, launched their careers at the Sabaragamuwa PC. Tourism Minister Achala Suranga Jagoda (NFF nominee on UPFA National List), entered Parliament through the Sabaragamuwa PC.

Sabaragamuwa Chief Minister Maheepala Herath is on record as saying that the UPFA would take seven out of nine seats in the Kegalle district. Herath’s son, Kanaka, is among the provincial councillors, who joined the parliamentary election fray.

At the last election, the UPFA won six seats, including two secured by the JVP. But today JVPers, Deepal Gunasekera and Achala Suranga Jagoda are with the National Freedom Front (NFF). Gunasekara (UPFA-Ratnapura) is one of the NFF nominees contesting the general election. The NFF nominee in Kegalle is Buddadasa Vithanaachi. The UNP won the remaining four seats at the last general election, though at the time of the dissolution of the Parliament, the UNP had only two MPs representing Ratnapura district. Susantha Punchinilame and Mahinda Ratnathilake, two of four UNP winners are contesting this time on the UPFA ticket.

Among the UPFA candidates are Karunaratne Paranawithana, formerly of the Rupavahini Corporation and veteran politician Vasudeva Nanayakkara, who represents left parties in the Ratnapura district. Paranawithana told The Island that the UPFA could win seven out of 10 seats in the district. He emphasised that the April 8 election would give the electorate an opportunity to cause a change within the administration. He urged voters to exercise their franchise to elect members, who could help change the system. The UNP would be reduced to three members, whereas the JVP would have to eat humble pie.

In the Kegalle district, Mano Wijeratne, one of the four UNPers, who had been elected to Parliament at the last election, switched his allegiance to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Political sources said that Wijeratne hadn’t been too happy about the UPFA accommodating Buddadasa Vithanaachchi on the Kegalle district due to battle over preferential vote. The UPFA won the remaining five seats, including the one secured by the JVP at the last election. R. M. Gamini Ratnayake, who won the only Ratnapura seat for the Marxist party is leading the DNA candidates in the district at the 2010 poll.

Interestingly, veteran politician Rukman Senanayake has opted to come on the UNP National List. Kabir Hashim leads UNP in Kegalle.

Minister John Seneviratne and Thalatha Atukorale lead Ratnapura for the UPFA and UNP, respectively.

At the recently concluded presidential election, President Rajapaksa bagged both Ratnapura and Kegalle districts comfortably. In Ratnapura, he recorded an impressive 63.76 per cent of the vote against Opposition candidate Gen. (retd) Sarath Fonseka’s 34.36 per cent. The President polled 377,734 while Fonseka managed 203,566.

The President obtained 296,639 votes (61.80 per cent) in Kegalle. Fonseka polled 174,877 (36.44 per cent).

UPFA sources said that the split in the Fonseka camp would be to their advantage not only in Sabaragamuwa but all districts won by President Rajapaksa at the January 26 presidential poll. The President won 16 districts leaving predominantly Tamil speaking North East districts to Fonseka. But, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which delivered the NE region to Fonseka is contesting on its own, though much weaker due to split following the presidential election.