JAFFNA (TIP): Despite the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka being seen as responsible for war crimes and mass displacement of Tamils in the north, the ruling party’s prospects of winning some seats are bright. There are many who think that Jaffna and surrounding areas risk being neglected again by the government if Rajapaksa’s party, the UPFA, is kept out of the provincial council. Kanagaratnam Sudha, a voter in Jaffna district, said she would prefer to vote for the ruling alliance candidate. “To get the benefits from the government we need to vote for the ruling party,” she said. Political analysts here say that the UPFA was likely to win five to seven seats in the largely Tamil-dominated region. “Their vote share will definitely increase this time. They will try to stop TNA from getting the mandatory twothirds majority in the council,” a TNA sympathiser said. The UPFA will secure a victory in the north as people here have begun to realise the truth that the government has offered them unprecedented development within a short period after the civil war ended. “This is something no other country has ever been able to achieve,” UPFA chief candidate for Jaffna district S Thavaraja told TOI. He said many former LTTE youths have expressed their willingness to support the UPFA saying that they had been misguided by the rebel outfit. “The government is pumping in a massive amount of money in the north for infrastructure and other development programmes. The A9 national highway and train facility to Kilinochchi and other government measures received a huge response from the common people,” said Thavarajah.
Rajapaksa party likely to make some inroads in the north Sri Lanka
