On Milinda Moragoda and his ‘strange’ campaign
Melinda
Moragoda does strange things. I think that’s his edge over a lot of
fellow politicians. He obviously has a lot of wealth or a lot of rich
backers, but these are times when wealth alone is not enough to get
nominated and if nominated get elected. Samson Silva (or was it
Fernando?) for example is a perennial also-ran who spends lavishly but
never wins.
Milinda is not about posters, cut-outs, loudspeakers, firecrackers
and mobs. He is probably one of the few politicians who do not violate
election laws. Neither does he abuse grey areas in the law.
For example, politicians know very well that they are not supposed to
put up posters and yet they desecrate all walls they can lay their hands
on. Some are cute. They do it before nominations close. This way they
make sure the elector knows they are running. There are all kinds of
loopholes and they creep through them all. Milinda does things
differently.
In 2004, Milinda ran a series of newspaper ads. Well, he advertised
in a number of websites too, in addition to writing directly to Colombo
District voters.
The print ads were remarkable and quite refreshing. Unlike other
candidates who purchased advertising space to tell people how great they
are and how the people would be screwed several times over if they
didn’t vote for these candidates, Milinda ran some neat lines that
clearly sought to get people thinking.
He had one ad where he saluted the kind of clean campaigning that
Dulles Alahapperuma chose to engage in. Milinda was then in the UNP.
Dulles, contesting from the People’s Alliance, managed to reach
agreement with political rivals to desist from mudslinging and to keep
thing civilized in the Matara District.
Milinda Moragoda |
He didn’t contest in 2001. The culture had changed and one of the UNP
candidates put up a poster with the following line: ‘Aney Dulles, oba
hitiya nam’ (Of Dulles, if only you were here now!). Milinda
piggy-backed on the idea; he called for a different kind of political
culture.
His ads decried the vandalizing of city space that had by the time
become part and parcel of an election campaign. He had other messages
that slip my mind, but which, I do remember were positive and most
importantly things that anyone could identify with and salute across
party lines. He won.
A lot of things happened after that. In 2005, Mahinda Rajapaksa won
the Presidential Election. Milinda, along with more than a dozen UNPers
(the better ones, let me add), joined the Government.
He was appointed Tourism Minister. He brought in some
professionalism, enterprise and for an ex-UNPer a surprising intent to
preserve cultural artifact and way of life. He operated on the basis
that the industry can be developed without compromising our cultural
ethos, the sensibilities of our people and our wonderful heritage.
Political upheavals saw Milinda being moved out of Tourism and given
the Justice portfolio, clearly a less ‘visibling’ ministry and one where
it is hard to score brownie points with potential voters. He worked,
that much is clear.
He set things rolling in the direction of expediting judicial process
and thereby bringing relief to tens of thousands of ordinary people. Now
it is election time again and Milinda is not in a happy situation.
He is not in the UNP and therefore it is unlikely that he will get
the kind of swing he got in 2004 from the Colombans, that breed of
kepuwath kola individuals who would have I am sure voted for Prabhakaran
if he had contested under the elephant symbol.
The electorates that fall within the city limits of Colombo are not
chockfull of UPFA supporters and recent elections amply demonstrates
this fact. It will take some convincing for Colombans to consider voting
for him for a) he is no longer a UNPer and b) he will be seen as a
traitor.
Equally troubling is the fact that he is not an SLFPer. He has his
own party now, the Sri Lanka National Congress. It’s new. Unknown. The
voter would remember Milinda, but not his party. They will remember him
more as a person who crossed party line than someone who backed the
President and did his bit without complaining.
Milinda Moragoda had to find a new way of reaching the masses and he
has. He is moved to the next logical step from his 2004 campaign.
He has developed the call for a different kind of politics to a
comprehensive document, which has taken the form of an ‘agenda to
influence the government’. I would call it another election gimmick if
not for one thing: Milinda need not have done this.
There are many ways of getting into Parliament and he is endowed with
more than the required complement of attributes to have an easy time of
it. Milinda has taken the tougher road.
Even if Milinda loses, this document (which I am sure all voters in
the Colombo District will receive) is something all of us should read,
re-read, remember and quote from. It is something we can use for years
and years. It covers all the major areas, gives interesting insights, is
succinct and very well written.
This election as I have written elsewhere is a boring affair. It’s an
issue-less election and the only thing that interests me is whether or
not the UPFA gets a two-thirds majority and if any decent people get
elected.
Milinda is trying to make it interesting. Who knows, if people take
his ‘manifesto’ seriously, they might end up ignoring the rich,
strong-armed, crooks and vote for some good men and women. And if this
happens, even if he doesn’t win, Milinda can be proud. He tainted
himself when he left the UNP. I think with this document, he has made
amends. Whether it is enough to get him elected, I am not sure. He’s
certainly doing something different. True to form.
malinsene@ gmail.com |