Senior leader MP Mavai Senathirajah of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) and President Ranil Wickremesinghe met yesterday at Senathirajah’s home in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna. Senathirajah allegedly expressed his optimism about Wickremesinghe’s chances of winning the next presidential election and promoting development in the northern part of Sri Lanka during the conversation.
As part of his “Puluwan Sri Lanka” presidential campaign, President Wickremesinghe was in Jaffna for a rally. Senathirajah extended an invitation for the meeting, which was held.
ITAK’s official position is ambiguous, despite the party having previously said that it supports Sajith Premadasa, the candidate for Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). Senathirajah stated that the party has not formally decided which candidates to endorse for the next election. This comes after ITAK MP M.A. Sumanthiran declared that the party’s Central Committee had chosen to support Premadasa during a news conference on September 1.
A major component of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), ITAK, had also declared that P. Ariyanenthiran, the Tamil common candidate, would not receive support and had been asked to drop out of the contest. Senathirajah, however, has openly declared he was not informed of the Central Committee’s decision, casting doubt on the party’s cohesive strategy ahead of the poll.