SJB confident its members won’t join UNP

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The SJB says it is confident that none of its members will join the UNP at its 76th annual convention to be held on 10 Sep., at the Lake House vehicle park.

Gampaha District MP Harshana Rajakaruna said so in response to the UNP’s claim that some SJB MPs would switch their allegiance to President Ranil Wickremesinghe soon.

“The truth is only Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara accepted the UNP leader’s invitation. That was well over a year ago, soon after Wickremesinghe accepted the premiership from the then President Gotabaya Rajapakasa. Diana Gamage switched her allegiance to the Rajapaksas soon after the last parliamentary election in Aug. 2020,” MP Rajakaruna said.

Responding to another query, the MP said that the UNP was engaged in a futile propaganda exercise. “The reality is the UNP has been reduced to just one National List MP. At the previous Parliament we had 106 elected on the UNP ticket,” the former UNP MP said, adding that by joining the Rajapaksas, Wickremesinghe has committed an irrevocable blunder.

The SJB secured 54 seats, including seven National List slots, at the last general election. The UNP feared the electorate, MP Rajakaruna said, pointing out that the once great party was not in a position to contest Local Government polls. Regardless of bombastic declarations made by the President and former MPs with him, the party lacked a grassroots level mechanism to organize supporters.