UNP district leaders confident of victory at PC Polls

By Jaliya Wijeyekoon

Provincial Council elections for the Western and Southern Provinces are scheduled to be held on March 29 and all major political parties and some independent groups are in the fray to capture power in the two provinces. Soon after the nominations were accepted by the Elections Commissioner all major parties have started their election campaign in their respective districts.

The Sunday Observer interviewed the three district leaders of the United National Party to ascertain their suitability and the program of work in respect of the election campaign and their chances of winning the election.

Edward Gunasekera - Gampaha District Leader:

Edward Gunasekera, the Gampaha district UNP group leader has entered the political arena as a provincial councillor in 1993 with the late Lalith Athulathmudali.

He was re-elected to the WP polling the highest number of preferential votes in 1993 and then entered parliament in the 2000 general election under the green banner and continued as a Member of Parliament representing Gampaha district until 2010. He is a seasoned, fulltime politician and the party hierarchy has reposed heavy confidence in him by appointing him as the group leader of the district.

Q: You have been assigned a heavy responsibility by your party as the group leader of the district which is considered to be a SLFP bastion. How do you hope to mobilise the masses against this government to woo the support for your party?

A: Yes, as I am the most experienced politician in the district with experience in PC and parliamentary politics, the party has nominated me to lead our team with the consensus of all candidates. All our team members have decided to launch an aggressive election campaign to win the district for the party rather than running behind preferential votes.

I do not agree with you that Gampaha is a SLFP bastion. In 1977, the UNP won all electorates in the Gampaha district except Attanagalle electorate. The present political situation in the Gampaha district has drastically changed compared to the previous elections. People are undergoing immense difficulties with the very high cost of living. We always move with the people in the reorganisational activities of the party and we very often come across instances where poor people have been driven from the frying pan to the fire. People are anxiously waiting to see a change of government and we hope to mobilise all those downtrodden masses against this government with the firm intention of forming a UNP administration in the near future. The PC election results will no doubt give an alarm signal to the government.

Q: How can you be confident of a UNP victory when the government is going ahead with mega development projects?

A: What do the majority people need most? Mega Development projects or decent and bearable cost of living with justice and fairplay? We have no objection to their development projects. Funds obtained on high interest rates are spent on development works not beneficial to the poor masses. See the number of protest campaigns that take plece almost everyday.

Q: What is your main election strategy to muster the support of people at the PC elections?

A: Well, it's going to be a multifaceted strategy. We shall be mainly focusing on the high cost of living. With the socio-economic and political situation in the country, people are now utterly disgusted and constantly join us in bunches wherever we travel for our reorganisational activities. It is they who organise pocket meetings for us and invite us daily to address the aggrieved parties in the hope of forming a UNP regime in the near future. So we are quite confident that we can win Gampaha district for our party and form a UNP administration in the Western Provincial Council.

Kithsiri Kahatapitiya - Kalutara District leader:

Kalutara district UNP group leader for the forthcoming PC elections is Kithsiri Kahatapitiya who has started his political career as a member of the Bulathsinhala Pradeshiya Sabha in 1991. He has represented the Western Provincial Council as a member continuously since 1993 and have held various positions in the party including the Chief Opposition Whip of the council.

He told the Sunday Observer that the party hierarchy has reposed high confidence in him by appointing him as the team leader of the district and that he hoped to launch an aggressive election campaign with his team members as a single unit and win the district for the party.

He elaborated on the quantum of work he had rendered to the people of the Western Province as a Councillor and all other progressive measures he had taken to put the council on the correct track. When there was a crisis situation in the council with regard to the Chief Minister post, with 23 JVP members opposing, the UNP under his guidance cooperated with the UPFA for the smooth functioning of the council replacing Nandana Mendis as the chief minister.

A large number of schools, hospitals and 47 local bodies including CMCs comes under the Western Provincial Council. I, as a Opposition Provincial Councillor who had fully studied the Provincial Council system and its powers and responsibilities according to the 13th Amendment had taken steps to get the Chief Minister to address the issues in above-stated institutions. I also have provided employment opportunities to the people of the Western Province in various fields. Also we created job opportunities through our projects to which I have contributed immensely. Some say that PCs are a white elephant, but I must tell you that as an opposition member the amount of work I have done for the people of the WP is immeasurable. I am quite sure that we will win the elections this time and when I become the Chief Minister I shall do wonders in the Province for the benefit of the downtrodden masses.

I must tell you that we have always disagreed with the chief minister on people-unfriendly moves. I have enough to tell the people of the Western Province as to why they should vote for UNP at the forthcoming polls.

Q: Are you confident of a victory at the polls? People say that conflicts have arisen among your party top brass demoralising your grassroots level membership.

A: There could be minor disputes over certain issues among the top leaders. But as you claim there are no major conflicts in our party. We know some unscrupulous media institutions are trying to tarnish the image of our party through their constant malicious propaganda against our Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who cannot be matched by anybody else in the country with regard to his ocean of knowledge in politics and other fields.

We are quite confident of our victory on March 29. Our humble request to the voters of the Western province is not to get deceived by the false promises of the ruling party politicians.

Also I am sure that people in the Western Province will not abuse their valuable right for a bottle of arrack or some petty material gift. We had discussions with the Elections Commissioner and the Inspector General of Police and I am grateful to both of them and their staff for trying to conduct a free and fair election.

Manju Sri Arangala - Colombo District UNP group leader, Ex Opposition Leader of the Provincial Council:

The United National Party has nominated Maju Sri Arangala, the former Opposition Leader of the Western Provincial Council as the Colombo district leader taking into consideration his commitment to the party and the popularity, respect and command he enjoys among the public in the district. He has demonstrated his capabilities and the popularity by polling the highest number of preferential votes when he first contested the Homagama Pradeshiya Sabha elections. Arangala told the Sunday Observer very optimistically that his party would easily emerge victorious in Colombo district at the forthcoming Provincial Council elections. Asked how he could be so confident of victory when the government is very strong and going ahead with mega development projects,

Arangala said the plight of the ordinary people as a result of the ever-increasing cost of living, lack of adequate facilities in education and health care, you can't say that this government is strong just because they have two thirds majority in the House. It was no doubt strong soon after the eradication of terrorism. But with subsequent developments in the socio economic sphere, and the negative bureaucratic standards of high officials, the government can't maintain it's popularity. People are anxiously waiting to see a change of government and the PC election will be a stepping stone for them to alert the government of the impending change at the next general election.

The government politicians make references as if the PC was under UNP rule for the past number of years. Huge amounts of funds were wasted on unrealistic projects. We are going to expose the double standards of politicians who always hoodwink the innocent voters in the district with their oratorical skills over the electronic media. Politicians who do not feel the pulse of the people are under the impression that the people will eternally, support them blindly as they every now and then conduct media shows and present some material gifts during the run up to the elections. They do not realise the infernal difficulties that the people undergo at present with the skyrocketed cost of living.

With this pathetic socio-economic situation in the country it is not difficult for us to mobilise the masses and become victorious in the Western Province on March 29 elections.