Who is the opposition’s common enemy? Sajith or Anura?

“Prime Minister approves six vehicles for the Opposition Leader.”

This was a front-page story published by the Lanka newspaper on 31st March 2002. The clear intention of the report was to portray the impression that there was a political deal between the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader. At the time, the Prime Minister was Ranil Wickremesinghe, and the Opposition Leader was Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In 2001, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s government was defeated, and Ranil Wickremesinghe formed a new government. Mahinda Rajapaksa of the SLFP became the Opposition Leader.

Initially, Chandrika appointed Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka as the Opposition Leader. However, voices soon emerged within the SLFP arguing that Ratnasiri was not suitable for the position at that particular time. A faction of Chandrika loyalists within the SLFP wanted Mahinda Rajapaksa to be appointed Opposition Leader.

However, the JVP, which had become the second-largest force within the opposition camp and was aligned with the Podujana Peramuna at the time, did not favour Mahinda’s appointment.

Mahinda Rajapaksa eventually secured the Opposition Leadership through what was described as a carefully worked-out political game plan involving Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and with the consent of Speaker Joseph Michael Perera. Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka was reportedly left behind in Bangkok while the manoeuvre was being worked out.

From that point onwards, the JVP and other left-wing leaders aligned with Chandrika began accusing Mahinda of becoming Opposition Leader as a result of a political deal with Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“The Opposition Leader is disrupting anti-government activities in Parliament by sneaking off to the Prime Minister.”

Then JVP General Secretary Wimal Weerawansa openly levelled this accusation. It was not only Weerawansa. JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe, Secretary Tilvin Silva, and MPs Lal Kantha, Vijitha Herath and Anura Kumara Dissanayake repeatedly made similar allegations. It became almost a political mantra.

Mahinda Rajapaksa tolerated all these attacks.

Eventually, he defeated Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP and went on to capture the presidency for the SLFP-led political camp. He did so while also rallying many of the same Chandrika loyalists who had earlier accused him of being Ranil’s stooge, together with the JVP.

Isn’t the Same Mud Being Slung at Sajith Today?

The difference, however, is that unlike Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sajith Premadasa did not become Opposition Leader through a political deal or backroom arrangement.

He became Opposition Leader through a parliamentary mandate. In 2020 and again in 2024, he was elected to Parliament by the people, and the parliamentary arithmetic resulted in him assuming the position of Opposition Leader.

So, when the same kind of allegation is being levelled against Sajith today — that there is some understanding or deal between him and the government — it is worth remembering the political history of how similar accusations were once made against Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The political mud being thrown today is not entirely new. Mahinda Rajapaksa faced much the same accusation more than two decades ago — and history eventually took a very different turn.

From the day Sajith became Opposition Leader in 2020, Ranil, the UNP, and the JVP began spreading mudslinging claims such as “Sajith is weak” and “Sajith has a deal with President Gotabaya.” Within the SJB, it was Champika Ranawaka who amplified these accusations. After contesting under the SJB in 2020 and becoming an MP, Champika demanded a senior position in the party. At an SJB parliamentary group meeting, MPs insisted that if Champika wanted a post, he should dissolve his own party and formally join the SJB. Sajith agreed, appointing him as a Deputy Leader. Yet Champika rejected the role, and from then on began attacking both Sajith and the SJB.

At the same time, several Sajith loyalists who had failed to secure national list seats joined Champika in their frustration, turning their criticism against Sajith and the party. For Ranil, who was waiting to undermine Sajith, this was a gift. Former national list candidates who had once opposed Ranil but later aligned with Sajith, together with Champika, strengthened Ranil’s anti-Sajith front. Their biggest charge was that Sajith had avoided a meeting convened by Father Julian Patrick in Kollupitiya to discuss the mastermind behind the Easter attacks, and that he had told Harin and Manusha not to attend. They claimed this proved Sajith had struck a deal with Gotabaya to shield the mastermind. But Father Patrick himself later clarified that Sajith had never been invited to that meeting.

Recently, Champika publicly stated that the Easter bombings were the work of Zaharan, and that his earlier remarks about a “mastermind” were only because Shani and Ravi Seneviratne had misled him. Sajith, however, has consistently maintained that the true mastermind must still be found.

In the end, Harin and Manusha—who had accused Sajith of cutting deals with Gotabaya—joined Gotabaya’s government. Ranil, who had also accused Sajith of a deal, became Prime Minister to rescue Gotabaya and the Rajapaksas during the Aragalaya crisis. When Gotabaya invited Sajith to take the premiership, Sajith set a condition: Gotabaya must relinquish executive powers. Sajith never held secret talks with Gotabaya; instead, he exchanged letters openly, laying out his terms. When Ranil became President, Champika was among the first to endorse his policy statement.

Champika’s claim of a Sajith–Gotabaya deal stemmed from his frustration at not receiving a major post in the SJB. Likewise, Fonseka branded Sajith “weak” after realising he would not be the party’s presidential candidate. Ironically, those who accused Sajith of being too soft on Gotabaya later negotiated with Gotabaya themselves for positions of power.

Sajith’s defeat in the 2024 presidential election was largely due to the relentless mudslinging by Ranil, Champika, Anura and the JVP, and Fonseka—painting him as weak and compromised. Even though Champika later tried to support Sajith’s candidacy, the damage was already done. Yet, despite losing the presidency, Sajith was chosen by the people in the 2024 general election to remain Opposition Leader. Unable to stomach this, Ranil and Champika resumed their attacks, joined now by Namal and the SLPP, who sought to project Namal as the “real” Opposition Leader outside Parliament.

During the Aragalaya, Gotabaya had agreed to Sajith’s conditions and was ready to appoint him Prime Minister. But the Rajapaksa family, calculating that Sajith’s rise would end Namal’s prospects, blocked the move and installed Ranil instead. When Gotabaya informed the Speaker of his intention to resign, an all-party discussion was held to appoint Sajith as PM. That effort was sabotaged by Wimal and the Rajapaksas. Ranil refused to step aside, claiming there was no consensus, and the Rajapaksas elevated him to Acting President. Had Wimal agreed, Sajith could have become Prime Minister, which in turn would have opened the path for Anura to eventually become President. Instead, Ranil’s presidency cut off that path.

Ranil, the Rajapaksas, Champika, and Wimal will never admit that they blocked Sajith to clear the way for Anura. Even today, their common enemy is not Anura, but Sajith. By spreading talk of an “Anura–Sajith deal,” they aim to destroy Sajith, not Anura. Yet Sajith remains Opposition Leader, and outside Anura, he commands the largest voter base. Whatever “deal” stories are told, Sajith and the SJB have already proven—through their parliamentary opposition to the 22nd Amendment—that they can mobilise resistance against the government.

So, the question remains: will Ranil, Namal, Champika, and Wimal repeat in 2029 the same mistake they made in 2024, paving the way for Anura’s victory? Only they know. But one thing is clear: all of them are desperate to show that Sajith is not the true Opposition Leader. And in this contest for leadership of the opposition, the eventual winner is Anura.

By Upul Josep Fernando

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