Modi’s men: AKD campaigns flat-out; confused Opposition holds back

‘Put not your trust in princes...’ — Psalms, 146:3, The Bible ‘Is the sword unused in war, to be used for hacking jackfruit?’ - Sinhala folk saying

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PRESIDENT Anura Kumara Dissanayake has hit the campaign trail, which means he is going all out to win. The two main Opposition parties, center-right and center-left, the SJB and the SLPP, are not.

By its unclarity and refusal to hit the AKD-JVP-NPP government hard, either on the lopsided IMF and debt restructur-ing deals or the undisclosed AKD-Modi agreements, the SJB and SLPP are each fighting with one hand voluntarily tied by themselves, behind their respective backs.

Therefore, AKD will secure the maximum vote that he still retains, while the Opposition is not doing what it needs to secure the maximum vote it can get by causing a sizeable swing, winning over or winning back the floating vote. The main Opposition parties will therefore probably secure their ‘base vote’ and not much more, though that will be more than the SJB and SLPP obtained in 2024 because many stayed home last year.

Clarifying Opposition confusion

The main parties of the Opposition—the SJB and the SLPP, led by Sajith Premadasa and Namal Rajapaksa-- are in a self-created state of confusion, in yet another election season. They aren’t playing the aces they have.

First off, the SJB and SLPP weren't sure whether Anura Kumara Dissanayake subscribing to Ranil’s deals with the IMF and the private bondholders without sticking to his election promises and striving for a better deal, was good or bad.

They though it was bad that he had made the promises-- which they regarded as unrealistic and had warned against-- not that he had broken them. They thought it was good that Anura had abandoned his longstanding critique and policy platform and come round to their economic projects and policies.