Presidential elections have been held for the first time in Sri Lanka after economic crisis and major political upheaval. Sri Lanka’s leftist National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s victory is confirmed. In such a situation, his becoming the President is certain. Till the counting of votes was received, Dissanayake was moving towards a huge majority with 54 percent votes. Dissanayake will be the 10th President of Sri Lanka. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over the President’s chair after Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s exodus, is at number three in the elections. He contested these elections as an independent candidate.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake is pro-China
Disanayake is an MP from Colombo. He leads the National People’s Party and the JVP Party. He has opposed India many times. Apart from this, he has a special inclination towards China. After Sri Lanka’s economic and political crisis in 2022, he gained a lot of popularity and his image as the messiah of the poor and anti-corruption leader became stronger. He has also contested the presidential election in 2019.
Why a setback for India?
Given Dissanayake’s inclination towards Marxism and Leninism, it is being said that he can take anti-India steps. He opposed India’s interference in the Sri Lankan civil war through the India-Sri Lanka peace agreement. Recently, he also talked about cancelling the 484 MW deal of Adani Group worth Rs 44 crore in Sri Lanka. He had said during the election campaign that after becoming the President, he would cancel the project.
Disanayake’s party has only three leaders in the parliament. His party supports China’s intervention in the economy and also believes in the closed market economic policy. Let us tell you that China was also being held responsible for Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. Sri Lanka’s condition worsened after getting trapped in China’s debt trap. At the same time, China did not even extend a helping hand to it in bad times.
Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabri congratulated Dissanayake on his victory on the social media platform X. He wrote that after a long campaign, the election results are now clear. I respect the mandate. Dissanayake’s party had got only three percent votes in the last election. This time he made corruption an issue and became popular by showing the dream of changing Sri Lanka’s fate.