WHITHER UNP; FATE OF GRAND OLD PARTY
Glimpse of History
United National Party (UNP) which is called the grand old party of Sri Lanka, has been a vibrant part of contemporary politics in Sri Lanka since 1946. UNP is a right wing party which established the inaugural government after independence in 1948. UNP was founded by Don Stephen Senanayake (D.S Senanayke), the father of the nation who became the first Prime Minister of independent Ceylon. Out of 73 years of independence, UNP as the ruling party or part of ruling coalition held power for 38 years. UNP was in government from time to time and most significantly, the marathon rule of 17 years from 1977 to 1994 was a singular feat, in the history of Sri Lanka following UNP’s landslide victory in 1977. UNP secured 4/5 majority which paved the way to transform the country into an executive presidency system in 1978. UNP is the only party which was able to form one party government while all other governments swept into power on mere coalitions. UNP had great leaders in the caliber of D.S Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake, Sir John Kotalawala, J.R Jayawardene, Ranasinghe Premadasa, Gamini Dissanayake, Lalith Athulathmudali and so on. Irrespective of the political views, they have done a great deal for the country in their individual capacities. It is worthy of note that the founder of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Oxford educated S.W.R.D Bandaranayake too made his political debut with UNP at the time of independence who later staged an epoch making cross over to form his new party, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). In fact, UNP could boast of a proud history. The pathetic story is that today, UNP has only one seat in the legislature which is also a bonus seat secured on the total of nation-wide votes casted in its favor. It indeed warrants an in-depth study to determine what caused this decline and circumstances that led to this predicament.
Decay of voter base since 1994
In 1994, the political landscape of Sri Lanka has undergone a phenomenal change. UNP strongman former Minister Gamini Dissanyake was assassinated in a bomb blast at the tail-end of his campaign for presidency and new political sensation Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunge (CBK) ascended to the hot seat of Presidency. Meanwhile, Ranil Wickramasinghe (RW) who was the Prime Minister of the previous UNP government took over the leadership of UNP and sat in the opposition after 17 years in power. RW who is incidentally the nephew of former President J. R Jayawardene, is a different person beyond comprehension of an average citizen. He had his entire education in Sri Lanka unlike many other prominent politicians of yesteryear who played a different role in Sri Lanka with a degree from England. Having completed his secondary education at Royal College, Colombo-07, he entered Law Faculty of University of Colombo to pursue legal studies. Upon becoming an attorney at law, he entered active politics at a very young age of 28 years in 1977. From the very outset, he preferred to be in western attire and epitomized western life style being a suave on his own accord. From being Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, then Minister of Education in JRJ government, he slowly rose in the ranks of UNP, holding important ministerial portfolios in successive regimes until 1993. In that year on the May Day, President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated by a suicide bomber while was at hand, marshaling the party’s May Day procession. In the events that followed, then Prime Minister of Sri Lanka D.B Wijetunge was elected uncontested as the Executive President and RW became the Prime Minister for the first time. Later, President Wijetunge opted to retire from active politics. There was a keenly contested battle for party leadership which in a secret vote, late Gamini Dissanayake became the presidential candidate but was killed in a similar suicide attack in an election rally just before the Presidential Elections. In 1994, UNP lost both general and presidential elections before and after the Gamini Dissnayake assassination. RW became the Opposition Leader and consolidated his position as UNP’s undisputed leader.
Gradual erosion of voter base
Towards 2002, President CBK’s government was at the receiving end and lost ground as far as the coalition’s voter base is concerned. There had been a number of reasons for its downfall such as intensified LTTE attacks which wreaked havoc and consistent failure in hydro power generation due to droughts and lack of planning. UNP led by RW who was called ‘Mr. Clean’, won the general election and was appointed Prime Minister while his rival CBK was still the Executive President. He soon inked a peace accord with LTTE with the mediation of Norway. Suddenly, there was a fresh air of relief in the country which was deadlocked in a civil war for almost two decades by then. But, his fortunes twisted in just two years. In 2004, CBK decided to dissolve the parliament so that his brief honeymoon as the Prime Minister was over. That was the second time he held that position. However, a crafty politician he is, he marked his time in silence in his role as the Opposition Leader. But he was not in fact quiet. He was busy hatching a secretive plan with Minister Maithripala Sirisena (MS) to wrest control of the government. He was successful in his attempt. Eventually, MS was installed as 6th Executive President of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka while RW became the premier for the third time. During this tenure, his reputation as Mr. Clean was tarnished by Central Bank scam. He did a little or nothing to vindicate his name either. His PR machine was a wreck. Although he comes from a media family, his association with media men was limited. RW came to be seen as an alien politician in the eyes of general public. Further, he has never worn the national costume in his life. In public, he used to wear a pair of expensive sunglasses. He never lifts infants or children at public places. He used to drink a King Coconut with a straw, in full public view. It is a well -known anecdote that when RW was told by a close associate to drink it without a straw, he was said to have quipped, saying that he can’t fool people. As told to the writer by a former Defense Secretary, RW is a proud man who hails from Walauwa fame. Former Defense Secretary said he once met RW at a funeral but RW completely ignored his presence and walked away. This is not for a grudge. That is his way. RW never stops to talk to anyone which is not our political culture. RW was born and bred in Colombo-07 so that he trusted only his ring of friends or classmates. His sexual behavior is also said to be controversial so likeminded henchmen found their way to his inner circle. On the top of everything, he has been stubbornly holding onto the power despite a series of election loses. There had been several struggles within the party to remove him. But, each time, he emerged victorious. A score of top level party stalwarts left him but he was not bothered. If someone counts how many former UNPers are in the present cabinet and as state ministers, this claim will prove right. So, no further explanation is needed, it is well within anyone’s understanding to realize why UNP was routed at the last election. But, according to Victor Ivan, radical JVP rebel turned journalist, only RW has a long term vision for the country and many people believe it. Will people of Sri Lanka ever see his dream becoming a reality?
