Eastern dynamics

The battle lines have finally been drawn in the Eastern Provincial Election with the sudden breakaway of alliances, a parting away of friends and a re-alignment of foes providing interesting configurations bound to decide the shape of the contest in the days leading up to the poll.

It is important though that in the hurly burly of the campaign the political parties and their candidates do not lose sight of the peoples’ aspirations that had been suppressed for over two decades under the jackboot of terrorism and allow personal vendettas and factional battles override the main objective of the poll.

We say this because from the developments witnessed in the past few days the campaign may in all likelihood take an acrimonious turn and pan out to take the form a prestige battle between factions of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress totally detracting from the thrust of the poll - to spell out the development goals of the parties for the Eastern populace which had been languishing for decades relegated to the periphery, not to mention the scourge of terrorism.

Of course the Government candidates would certainly carry this message to the people but it certainly would be ideal if all parties in the fray do not sow the seeds of discord and rancour among a polity that is striving to emerge from the scars of war and suffering.

The battle lines were certainly drawn when SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem and three other party stalwarts resigned their Parliament seats to contest the upcoming poll.

This may well have been as an afterthought following the defection of party strongman M.L.M. Hisbullah to the Government earlier in the day.

The former minister has certainly taken a huge political gamble by opting for this course and on his success would hinge his political future and his position as the leader of the country’s foremost Muslim party.

For, in the event of a defeat for the UNP-SLMC combine Hakeem would be relegated to a mere Provincial Council member, not a position from where he could command leadership of the party.

With the party already splintered there is a likelihood of total disintegration should Hakeem fail to make it as Chief Minister which in a way could spell the demise of the SLMC which was protected as a virtual monolith by the late leader A.H.M. Ashraff.

For Hakeem the die is cast and there can be no turning back.

With Hakeem making no bones of his Chief Ministerial ambitions anything less is certain to lower him in the esteem of the Muslims in the East. His woes may well be exacerbated by the fact that founder of the Party Ashraff was an Easterner who commanded immense popularity with his constituency and with his widow Minister Ferial Ashraff likely to lead the charge on the Government front the dice may certainly be stacked against the SLMC leader.

These issues are bound to overshadow the real issues of the Eastern populace that ought to take precedence and it is incumbent that the Government step in to fill in the void. True, any election is bound to stray away from the real issues particularly in Sri Lanka where the polls are fought on parochial issues.

All in all the Eastern poll is bound to throw up some interesting possibilities with three Tamil groups contesting on separate fronts. With the Pillayan group dominating in Batticaloa and the JVP too in the fray as a separate entity and the JHU also marking its presence it would be interesting to see the final configuration that would emerge from this mixture.

It is only hoped that the Eastern population who had been living under the gun for long years would not be exposed to

a different kind of warfare at a time the Government is striving to restore peace and normality in the region.

All parties is in the fray should ensure the highest etiquette and conduct during their electioneering that may showcase the Eastern poll as an exemplary exercise in democracy to the whole country.