5th Column

My dear Sajith,

I wrote to you last about two months ago but I thought I should write to you again now even though you must be busy, preparing for your second national election within a few weeks. This must be that time when you must ‘keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you’.

Some say you have improved from five years ago to the extent that you are not hiding away in Yala, counting the spots of leopards. Others argue that the more you change, the more you have stayed the same and that is why the ‘telephone’ party could not beat Anura sahodaraya at the recent election.

One statistic that changed is the percentage of votes you polled at the last two big elections. Five years ago, you had 42 per cent. Three weeks ago it was down to 32 per cent, while Anura sahodaraya’s vote grew from just 3 per cent to 42 per cent. Some had said this was not mathematically possible.

However, you were smart enough to say that politics does not work on arithmetic alone. Some people aren’t. That is why, soon after your defeat, Champika said that Anura sahodaraya’s victory was not the great win it was proclaimed to be because some 58 per cent of the people had voted against him.

Champika’s remarks reminded me of GL’s logic when he explains votes at the United Nations, where he counted countries which abstained as not voting against us. It also reminds me of Mahinda Yapa when he recently counted those who abstained at the Constitutional Council as ‘voting against’.

Champika has now parted ways with you for a second time, saying his party will not field candidates at the next election. He is becoming the new ‘SB’, being in the governments of Mahinda maama, Aiyo Sirisena and thereafter in opposition with you, then leaving you, only to re-join and leave you again!

In fact, ‘not contesting’ seems to be the fashion these days. Apart from Champika, Wimal has said he will not contest because he wants to give Anura sahodaraya a chance to implement his mandate. Even young Namal has chickened out and opted for the National List – not the sign of a future leader.

What is common about Champika, Wimal and Namal – and many other ‘senior’ politicians who are not contesting this time – is their realisation that, if they do, they will lose. When they tell us that they are not running because of one reason or another, what they are really saying is, ‘we know we will lose’.

So, it is a relief that you are contesting, and from Colombo too where your opponent will be Harini. Some call it the race to become PM. We all know who the winner of that race will be. I do hope you don’t start acting as if you are PM just like you acted as if you were President before September 21!

We hear of disputes over nominations in the ‘telephone camp’. These are part of politics. You have a tough job with public displays of anger such as Harsha having a tantrum, saying there is a conspiracy to keep him out of Parliament. Surely, such conspiracies can only come from within, Sajith?

That is in Colombo but Kandy is no better, we hear. A battle was brewing between Tissa, the man who never fails to be on the losing side, and Sujeewa, the bond book author. He was shifted to the National List. With friends like this all around you, why do you still want to lead the ‘telephone’ camp?

That is indeed a question that is being asked now. They say you erred when you didn’t accept Gota maama’s offer to become PM. You said you couldn’t govern with ‘pohottuwa’ chaps but then you invited some of them to your party, a decision that seems to have cost you a large number of votes.

Your critics say you erred again when you didn’t join the Greens for this election. You wanted Uncle Ranil to step down from the Green leadership. He said he will retire five years ago and ended up as President, so you are once bitten, twice shy but surely, you can’t decide who leads another party!

Two ‘Lucky’s were with you but you have been unlucky. You may become like Uncle Ranil. Like him, you lost two successive big elections. Like him, you are likely to be Opposition Leader for a long time. You wanted him to quit the party leadership after his election losses. Will you do the same?

What you haven’t realised is that what worked for your father – the 2,500 rupees of ‘Janasaviya’ – will not work for you, 35 years later. People won’t vote for a handout, even if it is a school bus or a smart classroom, now. Also, evoking memories of your late father is not the best strategy anyway.

Ironically, it was your father who defeated the rathu sahodarayas 35 years ago with bullets. The rathu sahodarayas have now defeated you with ballots. Maybe it is time to take stock of your role as the leader of your party. It is not that we like you less, Sajith, but we love our country more.

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: That pesky actress who was dropped at the last minute from your Ratnapura nomination list said after the last election that someone with a licence for a motorcycle is being asked to fly an aircraft. We thought she was being sarcastic about Anura sahodaraya. Was she really referring to you, Sajith?