Raja Rata UNP propaganda meetings a flop

BY CHULA Bandara Kulasekara

ALL UNP propaganda meetings held in the Horowpotana, Kahatagasdigiliya and Galenbindunwewa Divisional Secretariat divisions presided by Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday had been miserable failures due to poor attendance.

All these meetings were held to cover the Horowpotana electorate and not more than 50 people had attended the meeting at Paluketuwewa in Kahatagasdigiliya, reports said.

The meeting at Galenbindunuwewa had failed to muster even 100 people.

The protest campaign organised by the UNP in Anuradhapura on April 1 calling for the release of S.B. Dissanayake from prison also did not attract many people.

Even UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP Anuradhapura District leadership boycotted this campaign. Political infighting between the UNP Anuradhapura District leadership is said to have led to this unfortunate situation of lack of momentum for the party.

The successful development activities carried out in the Horowpotana electorate by the UPFA Government on the initiative of Women's Empowerment and Social Welfare Deputy Minister S.M. Chandrasena is also reported to have caused public disaffection towards the UNP.

Some UNP seniors in the Anuradhapura District alleged that people had lost faith in the UNP leadership due to its hollow campaigns like the opposition to the 100 metre buffer zone policy and the campaign to get Dissanayake released from prison where he is serving a two year sentence for contempt of the Supreme Court.

They said the anti-Ranil UNP Front launched by former senior UNP Minister A.M.S. Adhikari had also caused a serious dent in the UNP's future prospects in the Raja Rata.

Sunday's UNP meetings were organised by Keerthsinghe Wijeratne, Provincial Council member and UNP organiser for Horowpotana.