One of the top aides in Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s staff is reportedly planning to contest the next general election together with an independent group of MPs.
He had sought a ticket from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to vie from Colombo, but had not received any favourable response.
A Bandara related to the Rajapaksa family, his plan now is to ally with Lanza’s group.
The above is the summary of what was carried by Ruwan Wijewardena’s ‘Deshaya’ newspaper.
Unmentioned by name there, it is none other than Sugeeswara Bandara.
Anyhow, there is truth to what is being said.
It is him who lays the groundwork for the new party to be formed by Lanza, Anura Yapa, Sudarshani and et al.
Siripala Amarasinghe, former JVP MP and the person who led Basil Rajapaksa’s election campaign, is in charge of that party’s newly-opened office at Rajagiriya and also coordinates with the full-timers.
On the day of the opening, Lanza gave 30 new laptops to the office, which are being put to use to gather voter statistics at polling booth level, by data entry operators assigned for each district.
Amarasinghe is duplicating what Basil had done.
All are busy at work to launch the party on 19 January next year with a rally unprecedented in the country’s politics.
Now, Lanza is coming under attack by the SLPP, which he says, believes he is trying to lure its MPs to the new party.
Lanza has told an opposition MP that he has been speaking only to the 67 MPs who have broken away from the SLPP and do not intend to do politics together with the Rajapaksas again or to join the UNP.
He has boasted that they already have the support of 32 MPs.
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