by Ayampillai Dharmakulasingham, Retired Sri Lankan career diplomat Courtesy The Island

The writer made a correct prediction: ‘The President’s party, the National People’s Power (NPP), is expected to win significantly in the upcoming general election’ ( The Island, Nov. 7). Similarly, the writer anticipated that the NPP would secure more than 135 seats in the parliamentary election (Veerakesari, Nov. 9). Naturally, many are eager to understand the dynamics that enabled the President’s party to make history in a proportional representation election, specifically defeating the major Tamil parties in Jaffna.

The NPP is the first political party to achieve a two-thirds majority under proportional representation, winning 21 out of 22 electoral districts. Not only has it secured a two-thirds majority in Parliament, but it also garnered 6,863,186 votes and claimed 159 seats, including those from the national list. This is indeed an unprecedented victory in many respects. However, the significant win in the Jaffna-Kilinochchi electoral district, where the NPP outperformed the popular Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (Federal Party) and other Tamil parties, has become a major talking point among common masses in southern Sri Lanka, Tamil diaspora, political commentators, diplomatic and media sources.

The combined factors that contributed to the significant victory in the Jaffna-Kilinochchi district can be attributed to several politically important reasons. Tamil parties have been vocal in criticising major national parties, such as the United National Party, Sri Lanka People’s Party, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, and even the National People’s Power, as Sinhalese racist parties. Their primary accusation has been that these parties will not uphold the rights of the Tamil people. However, the ground situation tells a different story. Internal rivalry, infighting among major Tamil parties over issues such as the allocation of parliamentary seats, internal dominance, and the vested interests of party leaders has alienated a significant number of Tamil people from these traditional parties. Social media has played a constructive role in shaping public opinion. Additionally, some prominent Tamil leaders have been accused of secretly obtaining liquor permits from ministers and high-ranking government officials, prompting Tamil people to reconsider their political loyalties. Another important factor is that many Tamil leaders, wealthy businessmen, and members of elite services such as the Sri Lanka Administrative Service and other similar services own properties and businesses in the south, particularly in Colombo and neighbouring cities. The narrative of Tamils losing their rights contrasts sharply with the reality that a significant portion of the Tamil elite owns properties in Colombo and other cities, co-habiting with Sinhalese neighbours, undermining the ‘rights’ rhetoric. Over time, people have gradually distanced themselves from these traditional parties, though they lacked a viable alternative. The entry of the NPP, with its popular leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has offered a new option, and he is perceived as a leader who can be trusted.

The ‘rights’ rhetoric has lost its weight, and while the people of Jaffna seem to recognise that the problems created by 40 years of internal conflict need to be resolved, they also understand that the social and economic challenges faced by those in the south are not different from their own. The people of Jaffna have silently endured hardships, as the general political approach of Tamil leaders has often neglected the true suffering of the populace. Issues such as the demand for separation, the encouragement of young Tamil youths to take up arms, the resulting death and destruction, the entry of Indian troops into Sri Lanka, the widespread suffering, and the final episode at Mullivaikal with the elimination of the Tamil Tiger movement have not been critically analysed by so-called Tamil academics and reputed journalists. Meanwhile, social media has bridged the gap, and Tamils are no longer willing to accept what their leaders promote. Other factors, such as rampant corruption in the northern public service and a lack of commitment to addressing people’s needs, have also awakened public awareness. It is relevant to look back at the 1970s when the popular Mayor of Jaffna, the late Alfred Duraiappah, was assassinated in broad daylight by the Tamil Tigers, marking what is considered the first terrorist killing in Jaffna. Incidentally, Duraiappah had defeated the Tamil leader G.G. Ponnampalam in the March 1960 parliamentary election in the Jaffna district as an independent candidate. There were times when the people of Jaffna sought to align with the south, but the rise of separatist demands and other unfortunate events obstructed this inclination.

Another story within the main narrative deserves to be told: how an independent candidate with the aid of the social media, Dr. Arjuna Ramanathan, a former Medical Superintendent of the Chavakachcheri Hospital, won a single seat in Jaffna district is truly remarkable. Soon after assuming his role as Medical Superintendent, he exposed the shortcomings of the health administration in the north and how it failed to uphold the true essence of free healthcare. In other words, he was openly critical of certain members of the medical profession whose primary interest lay in building private practices rather than serving the public. This stance turned him into a local hero almost overnight, with the people of Chavakachcheri rallying behind him in overwhelming support. All in all, this was not an isolated event. It truly reflected how people had been suffering in silence amidst the empty political rhetoric of Tamil leaders who had miserably failed to address the needs of the local population. A new hero had emerged to champion the plight of the suffering people.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya have gained significant popularity among the people of Jaffna, who have aligned themselves with the populace in the south and placed their hopes in the NPP.