WILL GAJENDRAKUMAR PONNAMBALAM BE THE FUTURE TAMIL POLITICAL LEADER?

Island-wide local authority elections are scheduled for 6th May 2025. At the national level, the local authority polls will provide the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)led National People's Power(NPP) government an opportunity to prove if it is still as popular as it was at the time of the Parliamentary elections in November 2024. It will also be a test to gauge whether the Anura “Rella” or wave has receded or not.

- By D.B.S. Jeyaraj

On another level, the local polls results will demonstrate clearly the standing of the Anura Kumara-led Government vis a vis the ethnic minority communities of Sri Lanka. At the 2024 Parliamentary elections, the JVP-led NPP was the party that elected the most number of Muslim and "Malaiyagath Thamizhar" (Hill Country Tamils). The NPP also tied with the Ilankiai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) in electing the highest number of Sri Lankan Tamil MPs from the northern and eastern provinces. Both parties elected seven Tamil MPs each from the north and east.

Under these circumstances the north-eastern local polls in Tamil areas will be the determining factor in three important issues. Firstly, the results will show whether the Tamils of the north and east are still supportive of the JVP led NPP or not. After the 2024 Parliamentary poll, the JVP has been triumphantly proclaiming that the North-eastern Tamils have rejected the traditional Tamil nationalist parties and opted for the "Thisaikaatty" or compass. The May 6th poll can either prove or disprove this claim.

Secondly the local polls will also provide the Tamil nationalist parties another chance to deny the JVP-led NPP claim. Even though the JVP-NPP won several seats in Tamil areas, the Tamil parties were deeply divided. Their votes were fragmented. Tamil parties have explained that their comparatively poor showing at the 2024 parliamentary poll was due to this disunity in Tamil ranks. Arithmetical arguments have been propounded that if the votes polled by different Tamil parties and independent groups were heaped together, they would double the number of JVP/NPP votes in the north and east. They even say that Tamil voters punished them for their lack of unity by voting for the Compass.