Citing political sources, reports have surfaced that various discussions are currently taking place within the party regarding the future political leadership of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
Due to the current legal situation facing Namal Rajapaksa and the age and health of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, it is said that there is a need for a new generation to lead the party’s future political activities.
In this situation, reports say that the name of former minister Kanchana Wijesekhara is being talked about mainly. His experience in dealing with fuel and electricity crises in particular, his identity as a young politician and his perceived influence in southern politics have been cited as reasons for this.
An attempt to present Kanchana Wijesekhara
Political reports suggest that efforts to project Kanchana Wijesekhara as a key figure in the future political activities of Podujana Peramuna have intensified.
It is said that due to the current situation of Namal Rajapaksa, there is a need for a young face to lead the party’s public meetings and political activities.
In this scenario Kanchana Wijesekara may be a suitable choice. He was instrumental in handling the country’s acute fuel crisis during his tenure as the Minister of Power and Energy in the former President Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government.
There were long queues for fuel supply when the country was facing economic crisis. During that period QR coding system was introduced to regulate fuel supply. Along with this, Kanchana had also focused on matters including the import of coal required for power generation.
According to reports, it is because of this experience that Ranil Wickramasinghe considered Kanjana as the main political face of the young generation.
Many podujana peramuna members including Kanchana Wijesekhara had expressed their support to Ranil Wickramasinghe before the 2024 presidential election. Kanjana had also supported Ranil’s presidential candidature at that time.
However, despite receiving an invitation from Ranil’s side to work together politically after the elections, reports suggest that Kanjana did not choose that path immediately.
It is also said that he had the intention of staying away from politics for some time. As a result, the question remains as to which political party he will work with in the future.
Namal Rajapaksa’s call and talk of a new alliance
At the same time, it is reported that attempts are also being made to make Kanchana Wijesekhara work in association with Podujana Peramuna again.
It is said that Namal Rajapaksa also met Kanchana and invited them to work together again politically. Also, there have been reports that there has been a discussion about giving important responsibility to Kanjana in the political plan that Namal Rajapaksa can carry out with the aim of 2029 presidential election.
It is said that the idea of nominating Kanjana as the prime ministerial candidate has been mooted, especially if Namal becomes a presidential candidate in the future.
However, Kanchana Wijesekara has not yet publicly announced a final decision on the idea.
On the other hand, there are suggestions that Ranil Wickremesinghe’s political outfit may see Kanjana as an important bridge. There have already been various opinions at the political level about the possibility of the Podujana Peramuna and the United National Party working together in some form in the future.
If a young politician like Kanchana is promoted to the important leadership position of the Podujana Peramuna, there is an expectation that there may be a change in the political face of the party which was centered on the Rajapaksa family.
At the same time, information has been released about the plans to hold the next public rally of podujana peramuna in Matara. Since Mathara is the district where the political influence of Kanchana Wijesekhara is found, the political activities taking place there also gain importance.
This change is seen as an attempt to bring the younger generation outside the Rajapaksa family into the political activities of the party.
However, it is not yet clear whether Kanchana Wijesekhara will join the Podujana Peramuna again or choose a different political path. Likewise, the future political understanding between Ranil Wickramasinghe and Podujana Peramuna is not certain.
In the context of fast changing parties’ positions in Sri Lankan politics, it has become necessary for all major political parties to promote the young generation. In that way, what form these political movements around Kanchana Wijesekhara will take in the future has become an important issue to be observed in political circles.