by K. Anaga, July 6, 2020
At the outset I am inclined to believe that the TNA has done more harm than good. They have beaten Douglas, a known enemy for so many years and Karuna who is a spent force. Of course ,Karuna has come into limelight by his recent utterances that he has killed over a three thousand soldiers during the great battle of Elephant Pass. Karuna has caused terrible embarrassment to Mahinda and co. Thus Karuna might end up as non entity shortly. The government may get over the damage by justifying his help and assistance rendered to them during the war and pardon him. But the Tamils will never pardon his betrayals as he is the main cause for the plight of the Tamils to-day.
As far as the south is concerned, there are so many parties and independent groups contesting on an ‘Also Ran’ basis. Some of the ‘also ran’ might reduce the number of votes cast for certain parties which may or may not decide the winners. I understand some of the independent candidates are backed by main parties to create a dent on the number of votes cast on probable winners. As it is Mahinda’s Podujana Peramuna, Sajith’s Party and Ranil’s UNP are real contenders with the JVP taking a back seat. Any of the above parties getting 2/3 appears to be doubtful, however, with the money power available to Mahinda’s Party, horse trading cannot be ruled out after the elections.
With regard to North/East matters appear to be fluid. I appreciate Gagendran Ponnambalam’s political views. But taking into consideration the prevailing situation, he should have joined Wigneswaran to ensure that TNA and Douglas are kept at bay. In fact, Douglas is a known enemy whereas TNA is a silent killer. Sumanthiran seems to hold the noose, while Saravanabavan, Sitharthan and others appear to be faithful to Sambanthan for obtaining millions of rupees as development funds. Whose development is the question?
As it is, both TNA and Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kootani are on the Greasy Pole. TNA is sliding down fairly fast from the top of the pole while TMTK is making quite an effort to climb up the greasy pole, which I believe could be achieved with a little more effort and contribution from its supporters. TMTK appears to be suffering from lack of funds. Wigneswarn has rightly called for financial assistance from the members of the public to set in motion the wheel of propaganda. Most of the other conspicuous parties have earned money from ‘various sources’ with their experience in the game of politics. The irony of it is, even Ananthasangari has remarked that the need to call for subscription wouldn’t have arisen if Wigneswaran had joined his party. It might be a little too early to assess the situation now as quite a number of ‘also ran’ contestants may withdraw and support other parties. However, it will depend on the ‘purchasing power’ of the other parties involved in the negotiations.
My view is not enough propaganda is being done by Justice Wigneswaran. Though the little they do, seems to have an impact.
Maybe, we have to wait a few more days to carry out a better assessment.