5th Column

My dear Chandadaayakaya,
I thought I must write to you as you will be making a very important decision tomorrow. Also, writing letters appear to have become a fashionable thing to do these days with Maithri writing to Mahinda maama and Mahinda maama sending him a reply — and both of them sending copies for us to read!

Chandadaayakaya, despite the important task ahead of you tomorrow, I wouldn’t blame you if you are confused, seeing what has been happening over the past few weeks, since elections were called. That is because this election appears to be like no other held before. There are many reasons for that.

For instance, this must be the first election where ‘Maco’ is calling the shots. Remember the days when election commissioners were complaining of ‘aathathiya’ while trying to do their job? Now, the tables have turned and candidates have developed ‘aathathiya’, trying to follow ‘Maco’s instructions!

This must also be the first election where a party leader is predicting the defeat of his party at the polls and another former party leader of the same party is campaigning against the party. I am referring to Maithri and Satellite’s recent words, deeds and of course, the letters written by them!

In the Blue corner, the campaign is led by Mahinda maama, who was rejected by the people only a few months ago. That the Blues have no one else to lead them except a candidate defeated at the last election is sad for what was once a great party — and a reflection of Mahinda maama’s autocratic style.

The Blues, though they call themselves that, seem to be governed by the ‘others’ in their alliance: Wimal, Vasu, Dinesh and that johnny-come-lately, Udaya. That is sad because if any of them contest separately, they would probably lose and it is sadder to see Mahinda maama dancing to their tune.

This must also be the only election where the two general secretaries of a major party are sacked barely forty eight hours before the poll. Many are saying Maithri should have done that the moment he was handed the party leadership, but he must be thinking that it is better late than never!

Then, if you look at the nomination lists of the Blues, you will see the same names that you have been seeing over the last twenty years — and the same faces that you saw on your television screens being hauled to the Police or the courts and then being released on bail. That is not very inspiring, is it?

So, if you are wondering whether you should vote for a party led by a defeated candidate, is without its two general secretaries, and where your local candidate is being investigated for corruption, you would think about voting for the Greens but believe me, your task of choosing them is not any easier.

To start with, the Greens are not purely green now. It is a mix of Greens, Blues, the Hela Urumaya and the always available Rauff, so it is difficult to gauge which way they will be heading. It is more like a ‘koththu roti’ than the ‘rotiya’ that Sobhitha Hamudurowo was keen to bake a few months ago.

They are an assortment of all these groups. While that might be a great idea for national harmony, we had a taste of them during the past six months and what we saw was different people pulling in different directions and the only people who made some progress was the opposition!

Their ‘Yahapaalanaya’ slogan inspired a nation seven months ago. Some of the promises they made — such as reducing the powers of the Executive Presidency — have been kept, but despite their many allegations of corruption, no one was punished, so many wonder whether they will keep their word.

An indication of how they can act came with a scandal of their own involving the big boss of the big bank. Instead of setting an example and sending him back to Singapore, they have retained him, even if it could cost them the election. So, it is no wonder if you are thinking ‘unuth ekai, munuth ekai’!

Now, if you are considering voting for the Reds because the Blues and the Greens just aren’t good enough, that isn’t easy either. They have a terrible past and they shirk responsibility and avoid joining governments, preferring to criticise from the opposition, so how confident could you be about them?

So, dear Chandadaayakaya, although you have an important duty to perform tomorrow, it is not an easy task. But, regardless of whether you vote Green, Blue, Red or for Sampanthan’s chaps in the North, be sure to send some decent people to the next Parliament, not thieves, thugs and dictators.

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS: Just before the last election, Mahinda maama asked us to vote for the ‘known devil’ rather than the ‘unknown angel’ but the people ignored him. What he didn’t tell us was what we should do if the choice before us was of three ‘known devils’. I suppose we should choose the least evil among them!