Colombo, Jan. 24: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa suffered his second major setback when the matriarch of his party defected to rival Sarath Fonseka’s side with barely 48 hours to go before the poll booths open for what is considered a very fiercely contested high-stakes election. Ms Kumaratunga accused the government of high corruption and of unleashing violence.
Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga met Gen. Fonseka, the common presidential candidate, at her residence on Sunday and extended support to his campaign to oust Mr Rajapaksa. The former military chief had delivered the first shock to the President’s bid for a second term when he quit the Army after a spat with the President and his influential brother, defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, in November 2009 and later announced his intention to contest for the presidency. He split the "victory vote" by claiming that it was he who had won the war against the LTTE in the battlefield while the President led a life of luxury in the capital. "I took the decision to end four years of silence as I am deeply concerned about the violence, intimidation and corruption," Ms Kumaratunga said.
R. Bhagwan Singh