Tuesday 27th February, 2024
Sri Lankan politics is turning red in tooth and claw; the battle for the coveted executive presidency is getting down and dirty with every passing day. The presidential election is about eight months away, but the prospective contenders are already trading blows below the belt. At this rate, they might even run out of slander, vitriol, put-downs and taunts months before the contest proper! Let them be warned that it is a long climb, and they need to pace themselves accordingly.
The JVP claims to be one of the frontrunners in the presidential race. Its critics pooh-pooh this claim, alleging that it is manipulating social media with the help of cyber fakes in its favour. However, the fact remains that having recovered lost ground on the political front, to some extent, the JVP is now in overdrive, wooing influential sections of society in a bid to shore up its image as a full-fledged political party capable of governing the country.
The JVP is taking great pains to counter various claims its rivals are making to discredit it and instill fear in the public about its intentions. Addressing a group of business leaders, on Sunday (25), JVP/NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, MP, denied an allegation that the JVP would take over privately-owned properties, and throttle the private sector if it formed a government. Dissanayake strove to convince his audience that the JVP had changed.
The entire universe is said to be in a state of flux, and therefore political parties/systems cannot defy change. So, it is only natural that the JVP is changing. What we are witnessing at present could be considered the JVP’s ideological eclosion; it is emerging from the chrysalis of a hidebound ideology replete with communism and militancy. This transformation phase …read more
Source:: The Island