5th Column

My dear Anura sahodaraya,

I know you are busy with the task of setting up government but I hope you still have time to read this letter. Congratulations on a truly historic victory. For the very first time, a ‘common man’ in every sense of the word has made it to the very top. That this is possible in our nation makes us very proud.

It is not just that a boy from Thambuttegama Central can beat elite contenders from Royal and St Thomas’. You also convinced 53 million voters that you are sincere and that they should look outside the two-party box they have been thinking for seven-and-a-half decades. That is no easy task.

It is the biggest political revolution since ’56 when SWRD opened the doors to Parliament for those wearing the ‘cloth and banian’. Still, it is debatable whether the actions of the Oxford-educated, pipe-smoking ‘haamu’ from Horagolla had its full effect: his party remained in his family for 50 years!

You achieved what Rohana sahodaraya couldn’t with the bullet for the first 25 years of your party or what Somawansa sahodaraya couldn’t with the ballot for the next 25 years. To get to the top, ironically, you had to beat the son of the leader under whose watch Rohana sahodaraya died.

You exceeded your own expectations because you have said that when you die you only wanted to be satisfied that you devoted your life for your cause. It was a tough battle until the end. Preference votes, never counted before, had to be taken into account because Uncle Ranil entered the contest.

After the final count, you won with a majority of 1.3 million votes. Only Satellite, Mahinda maama and Gota maama secured greater victories. You won 15 districts in the South, all except Badulla and Nuwara Eliya, no mean feat for someone who was mocked as ‘Mr 3 per cent’ 5 years ago.

Some factors worked in your favour. The ‘aragalaya’ changed the mindset of voters. They began to despise the ‘R’ clan. The tussle between Uncle Ranil and Sajith was bigger for both of them, though it was obvious that divided, they will both fall. The vote in the North and East was also split three-ways.

When the final results were out, we knew we had matured as a democracy: there was no violence at all. People heeded your call that one’s celebration shouldn’t hurt another. It was good to see Uncle Ranil leaving gracefully, and Sajith and Namal attending the results announcement with humility.  

I was also impressed by your swearing-in ceremony. It was brief and simple. And, what a relief it was to not see the same old, tired faces that we have been seeing for decades, seated in the front rows. Your first address to the nation followed the same pattern and your Cabinet is only 3 ministers!

Your choice of Harini as PM is commendable- and not only because she is a lady. With all due respect to the two ladies in that role before her, she is there under her own steam, not because of her surname. You are also killing two birds with one stone – you increase your appeal to more ‘moderate’ voters.

You have dissolved Parliament as you promised and called general elections in less than 8 weeks with nominations closing in less than 2 weeks. You want to make the most of it while the Greens, the ‘telephone’ camp, the ‘pohottuwa’ chaps and the Blues are in disarray. I don’t blame you.

Sahodaraya, so far, so good, but the road ahead won’t be easy. You made many other promises which you must keep. Voters will expect you to ‘catch thieves’, eliminate corruption and abolish your own office. They will want you to do these as soon as possible but we know all of this will take some time.

While voters wait for you to deliver on your promises, your opponents will be waiting for the slightest slip-up to pounce on you. Some are already predicting that you will be another Gota maama because, like him, it was a ‘rella’ or ‘wave’ that brought you into power, and that you won’t last 6 months.

Sahodaraya, during your campaign you set the bar so high that there is very little margin for error. You carry the weight of great expectations from the masses but there will be hard times ahead and the people will always ask for more. Getting the top may have been hard, but staying there is harder.

Many voted for you despite their fears about ’71 and ’89. They felt they had no choice, or because they thought the choices they had were worse. Others didn’t vote for you last week because of ’71 and ’89. All of them want to see whether you can balance the ‘rathu sahodarayas’ with the ‘maalimaawa’.

As you manage these challenges, sahodaraya, keep in mind that your 5 immediate predecessors have all been found guilty by the highest court in the land for an offence while in office. If, in 5 years, your name is added to that list, you would have failed the 5.6 million voters who chose you.

Can I also suggest, sahodaraya, that you hang photos of all your predecessors – maybe, except DB’s – on the wall facing you in your office. That way, whenever you look up, you can think of the promise with which they were voted into office and how badly they had disappointed us by the time they left.

Sahodaraya, the people have given you a historic chance. If you miss it, it will be the last opportunity your sahodarayas get to taste power. If you succeed, history will judge you as the person who broke the ‘elite’ system and as the person who made Lanka great again. Most sincerely, we wish you well!

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: Weeks ago, pundits argued that mathematically, it isn’t possible to convert the 3 per cent of votes you polled in 2019 to 50 per cent. Most of them have to be satisfied with 2.5 per cent now and call you ‘Your Excellency”. To the people, however, I hope you always remain, ‘Anura sahodaraya’!