Rise of Sri Lanka podujana peramuna (SLPP) : causes, consequences and challenges

Abstract

The history of party politics in Sri Lanka can be traced from the era of British colonial rule to the post-independence era. In the political context of Sri Lanka, few political parties have dominated the political landscape, viz. the United National Party (UNP), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP/ People‟s Liberation Front), the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), and many other registered and unregistered parties. Nevertheless, the exceptional rise of the recently established party known as Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in the country‟s political landscape within a short span of time has been highly remarkable. Although the existing literature contains much information about the party politics of UNP, SLFP and other minor political parties in the country, there are hardly any studies on the spectacular rise of SLPP in the political landscape of Sri Lanka. Thus, this paper attempts to examine the causes behind the rise of the SLPP, its possible consequences, and the challenges confronting the present SLPP government in the context of the current political/ economic situation prevailing in Sri Lanka. This paper is of a descriptive and interpretative nature and mainly relies on secondary data. The findings of this paper suggest that the following factors could be attributed to the rise of SLPP: i) Bond scam and collapse of economy, ii) Easter Sunday bombings and national security issues, iii) Covid-19 pandemic, iv) Split in the UNP, v) Broad coalition of SLPP and allied parties, vi) Failure of good governance government, vii) Need for a strong and visionary leader, and viii) A reaction against minority political parties and ethnic polarization. The paper further shows that the rise of the SLPP government helped to form a strong government, strengthened national security, enabled enactment of the 20th amendment to the constitution and prepare the draft of a new constitution, dismantled the formation of underworld gangs and drug mafia, helped recruitment of 60,000 graduates and 100,000 nonskilled workers to the state sectors, adopted a new approach to people-centric economy and technology based society and developed health policy on Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, there are still many challenges confronting the SLPP government at present in terms of rebuilding the economy, containing the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, enacting a new constitution acceptable to all communities in Sri Lanka, establishing a proper system in place, eradicating corruption, and accommodating the minorities to help build a country with a pluralistic outlook.