Over 60 UNP MPs have crossed since 1994:

Numbers keep increasing

By Jaliya WIJEYEKOON

Political crossovers or pole-vaulting had been in existence since the first Parliament formed by D. S. Senanayake in 1947.

The first ever political crossover took place in this country in 1951. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike with D. A. Rajapaksa and a few others broke away from the ruling United National Party, crossed over to the opposition and formed the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) over differences of opinion he had with the then Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake over the policies adopted by the Government.

The second significant crossover which made a great impact on the Government occurred in 1964, when Minister C. P. de Silva and several others sat on the Opposition benches, protesting the Press Bill which was presented by the Sirimavo Bandaranaike government amidst various objections from different quarters.

In 1999, just before the Presidential election, a number of UNP stalwarts including Sarath Amunugama, Wijeyapala Mendis and Susil Moonesinghe broke away from the United National Party and joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, owing to the short-sighted policies and unpragmatic approach towards vital political issues adopted by party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

In 2000 there was yet another political summersault by three prominent UNP parliamentarians - Nanda Mathew, Mervyn Silva and Harendra Corea. They claimed that they would unconditionally support the constitutional reforms suggested by the Chandrika Kumarathunga Government.

Wijeyapala Mendis	Ronnie de Mel	Sarath A.	Rohitha B.	Anura B.	Mahinda S.	Keheliya R.
Mahinda W.	G.L.	Mervyn	Susantha P.	Nanda Mathew	Harindra C.	Mahinda R.
Rajitha S.	Lakshman Y.	Bandula G.	P. Dayarathne	Mano W.	Navin D.	W.J.M.
S.B.	Jonston F.	Lakshman S.	Earl G.	Neomal Perera	Darmadasa B.	Manushya N.
Upeksha

It has been observed that after the defeat of the Parliamentary elections in 2004, the United National Party headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe has been gradually and steadily losing its popularity among the membership. The party has faced a chaotic situation with many conflicts that caused internal party disunity.

The United National Party headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe suffered the heaviest blow in 2007 when 17 prominent UNP members including the Deputy leader of the party Karu Jayasuriya joined the Government ranks against the wishes of the leadership, mainly due to the negative approach taken by the leader on the most vital issue of the day, the protracted war.

It had been the general view among all dissidents that they switched allegiance to work for the betterment of the people who voted them to power and over certain disagreements with the party hierarchy and also to strengthen the hands of the President in defeating terrorism and winning the economic war.

The United National Party was considered a formidable force, not only when it was in power, but also when it was in the opposition, from its formation in 1946.

But surprisingly, it has been left in the opposition for a long period now under Ranil Wickremesinghe's leadership and the general belief is that the present leadership is responsible for all the recent crossovers which have weakend the party.

In addition to the above stated collective crossovers, there were a number of individual crossovers during the last few years from the main opposition United National Party to the Government ranks. These included strong provincial UNP stalwarts such as Susantha Punchinilame from Ratnapura district, Rohitha Bogollagama from Kurunegala district, Keheliya Rambukwella from Kandy district, Mahinda Ratnathilake also from Ratnapura district and Mahinda Samarasinghe from Kalutara district and Johnston Fernando also from Kurunegala district. Most of these parliamentarians who contested under the UPFA banner at the last election easily managed to retain their seats except for Rohitha Bogollagama and Mahinda Ratnathilake. S. B. Dissanayake who was the National Organiser of UNP also deserted the party and joined the Government owing to the affable, charismatic and far sighted leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Ranil Wickremesinghe's leadership is now being challenged by most UNP stalwarts. They claim that he is unable to consolidate the party and there are also various allegations against him by the membership.

The most recent crossovers of five members namely, Lakshman Seneviratne of Badulla district, and Earl Gunesekera of Polonnaruwa district who had rendered an invaluable service to the party, for decades, and three freshners who had just entered Parliament - Manushya Nanayakkara, Nilwala Wijesinghe, Upeka Swarnamali - had dealt a great blow to the party and its leadership.

UNP is presently divided or split into a number of groups and there are speculation and rumours that some more sitting members are also planning to join the Rajapaksa regime in the near future, since there are no signs of a UNP government coming into power even in the distant future.

In no political party of the present day do we find the likes of Gamani Jayasooriya who bade goodbye to his ministerial portfolio and party politics over certain disagreements with the then leadership on a vital national issue. A man of principles than a politician

Most of the defectors who pole-vaulted to government benches during the last few years also stated that the main reasons for their decision were the unrealistic nature in which the present leader handled the affairs of the party, stubborn and arrogant manner in which he treats his political subordinates and favouritism and nepotism shown to a selected few.

With the latest crossover of five members to support the 18th Amendment, Ranil Wickremesinghe's leadership is yet again challenged by the party stalwarts. They want to implement the proposed reforms immediately to save the party from further erosion.

It has been calculated that since Ranil Wickremesinghe assumed the leadership of the United National Party and the Opposition in 1994, 61 UNP parliamentarians have crossed over to the Government, citing different reasons, mainly the unrealistic mode of leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The saga of crossovers in the UNP is a never-ending thing prompted by various reasons some on matters of policy - a rare occurrence now unlike in older days and others for enjoyment of ministerial portfolios and other perks, including alleged involvement in grafts.