Presidential elections are going to be held in Sri Lanka on Saturday. According to the latest survey, National People's Power (NPP) presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake is leading the race. He is considered pro-China. Anura has promised that she will cancel Adani's project after winning.
Apart from Anura, three other major candidates are in the race. Opposition leader Sajit Premadasa is at the second position in the survey. Current President Ranil Wickremesinghe is third behind him. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Namal Rajapaksa is also in the race. Surveys also show that his chances of winning are slim.
According to media reports, the economic crisis in Sri Lanka two years ago is still fresh in people's minds. This is the reason why the biggest family of the country 'Rajapaksha' is seen to be out of this race for the last two decades.
Anura was known to oppose India, now the friendship grew
Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the leader of the left-wing party Janata Vimukti Peramuna (JVP). He is the presidential candidate from the NPP coalition. According to the South China Morning Post, the JVP party is known for its opposition to India. In the 1980s, India decided to send a peacekeeping force to deal with the LTTE in Sri Lanka. JVP opposed it then.
In recent years, the JVP has changed its anti-India stance. However, Anura has started a new controversy by making a statement against the Indian company Adani before the elections. The JVP leader recently promised to cancel the Adani Group's wind power project in Sri Lanka if he wins the September 21 presidential election.
Anura says the Adani project is a threat to Sri Lanka's energy sovereignty. The Adani Group this year signed an agreement with the Sri Lankan government to develop a wind power station. For this, the company is going to invest 442 million dollars (about 367 crore rupees).
Anura Kumara Dissanayake's popularity has grown significantly due to the historic mass movement in Sri Lanka after the severe recession.
Anura became popular among the youth by giving a statement against corruption Anura Dissanayake and NPP have seen a huge surge in popularity in the last 4 years. Sri Lankans have high expectations from the NPP for economic reforms and social equality, as it has never been in power before so people have more faith in it.
Anura Kumar Dissanayake is very popular among the youth. Another major reason for the NPP's growing popularity is its promise to fight corruption. Anura has been promising to rid Sri Lanka of corruption in every campaign. The youth feel that corruption is the main reason for the deteriorating economic condition of the country.
The party has also worked on strong international relations. China and India are two major economic partners of Sri Lanka. The party visited China in December 2023 and met senior leaders of the Chinese Communist Party.
Similarly, an NPP delegation visited India in February 2024 and met senior Indian officials including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Anura visited India in February 2024. During this he met External Affairs Minister Jaishankar.
Ranil Wickramasinghe is contesting as an independent candidate Ranil Wickramasinghe is contesting the next presidential election as an independent candidate. He resigned from Sri Lanka's right-wing party United Nationalist Party.
Wickramasinghe seems to be referring to the political and economic stability achieved during his two years in office. He says that the present government has achieved some major economic successes like reducing inflation.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
