As the presidential election in Sri Lanka is scheduled for the latter part of this year, the political circle is seeing new leaders rise, defeating the old ones who have nothing new to offer to the country, which has long been coping with inflation and rising prices. The emergence of Anura Kumara Dissanayake, alias AKD, has piqued people’s interest in the country at present. Dissanayake is the formidable leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)—a radical left party now transformed into a socialist force and heads the National People’s Power (NPP)—an alliance of 27 groups formed in 2019.

The JVP historically championed the cause of marginal people. After the economic crisis, which led Sri Lanka to bankruptcy and unravelled the regime of Rajapaksa, the JVP’s narrative received political currency. The Jana Aragalaya (people’s movement) could not weaken the stranglehold of the Rajapaksa regime even though Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to resign and subsequently leave the country. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had previously lost Presidential elections, was indirectly elected to Parliament through the national list as the sole member elected from the United National Party and became the President. He was supported by the Rajapaksa’s party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. Thus, the Aragalaya failed to change the political face of Sri Lanka as the old elites were back in power. Thereupon, the Rajapaksa brothers were back, and politics seemed as usual. Given this background, Dissanayake’s appearance as a leading and popular candidate for the election is not surprising.

The NPP’s promises of equal opportunity, social justice and a corruption-free country have the ingredients to sway the Sri Lankans. Sri Lanka imposed an 18 percent value-added tax on fuel, mobile phones and computers in January this year. Things have not improved as the International Monetary Fund piloted reforms that insist on cutting the subsidies. Meanwhile, the NPP’s economic agenda promises to restructure the economy, thereby loosening the stranglehold of corrupt business people. This could help the NPP gain popularity among the public.

Transformation of JVP

The JVP was a radical left organisation led by Rohana Wijeweera, an ex-cadre of the Communist Party of Ceylon (Marxist-Leninist), which took up the issue of urban poor and rural peasants. It empathised with Tamil issues as the JVP wanted to expand its base. The contact between them and the Tamil students started at Peradeniya University in Sri Lanka. The JVP understood the concerns as Tamils protested against the 1972 constitution.

At one point, the aspirations for democratic rights of the JVP and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were the same, as both fought against the state and spoke of emancipation. However, they differed on separatism espoused by some Tamil organisations as a solution to the ethnic problem even though they agreed on self-determination. Their expansion in the North and East made them realise that the poor from both communities have similar problems.

Soon after, the Communist Party of Ceylon (Marxist-Leninist) became an ultra-nationalist organisation shedding its Marxist ideological moorings as ethnic conflict deepened. It detested foreign cultural, economic and political influence in Sri Lanka. It was at the forefront of opposing the Indian intervention in Sri Lanka under the Indo-Lanka accord.

In the early 70s and late 80s, the JVP led a violent insurrection in Sri Lanka. It saw the deaths of more than 50,000 Sri Lankans when the government countered back. Most of its front-ranking leaders were killed during the 1987-89, paving the way for a new generation of leaders to take control of its transformation to parliamentary politics. The JVP is now trying to break from its violent past by pursuing the electoral path.

JVP leaders’ India visit

The recent visit of Dissanayake and other leaders from the NPP to India on the invitation of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations gave rise to speculation in Sri Lanka about why the JVP, an anti-India party, is being courted by the Indian government. During this visit, they met important leaders and think tanks to familiarise themselves with India-Sri Lanka relations. It is also essential to consider JVP’s transformation that has led it to convince India of the promises the NPP holds if elected. The JVP, which had taken a particular position on the Tamil issue in India is transforming itself into an inclusive party.

After basing its politics on an anti-India stance, the JVP acknowledges that India cannot be ignored and says, “Our position is that we can only go forward politically and economically with some sort of agreement with India.” However, it continues to be opposed to the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987. It played a role in de-merging Northern and Eastern provinces. The two provinces were merged as part of the Indo-Lanka Accord.

It considers the Provincial Council system which was introduced as part of the Accord, as a failed system and advocates equal rights for the Tamils. However, it is unclear what constitutional package it will offer to address Tamil’s political marginalisation issue. Given its past engagement in Sinhala nationalist politics, returning to the 1960s—when it upheld the Tamil political cause minus separatism—will take time. In the past, the JVP did not want to base its politics on the cause of plantation Tamil workers, also known as “Indian” Tamils. It is now taking up its cause to broaden the party’s base.

Broadening support base

During Aragalaya, JVP’s breakaway faction, the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) in Sinhala, played a significant role. Though the FSP has supported grassroots JVP organisations in their struggle, it has ruled out any alliance with them due to their differing ideologies at present, even though they held talks to examine the opportunities to come together.

The JVP’s past electoral performance was far from impressive. In 1994, it had a lone member of Parliament. It won public support after joining the People’s Alliance, headed by Chandrika Kumaratunge, Sri Lanka’s former President, in 2004. The JVP was divided in 2008 over the agenda of supporting then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The party lost the last presidential election. It is now preparing to fight the next election, and the NPP, of which the JVP is a part, is moderating its stance. It is against the Executive Presidency, where power is concentrated in the hands of the President. The National Unity government pruned some of the powers of the executive presidency and transferred them to the Parliament, but the government of Gotabaya Rajapaksa reverted it.

The NPP aims to introduce constitutional reforms and encourage private participation to develop the tourism sector. Given Sri Lanka’s fractured polity which is yet to accommodate Tamil political aspiration, the promises of NPP of “an inclusive, democratic Sri Lankan identity” that promises accommodation of all identities appear appealing.

The transformation of revolutionary parties and the adoption of parliamentary politics is not new in South Asia. Nepal is one such instance. Thus, the JVP’s move to centrist politics appears to be imbued with the reality of geopolitics and geoeconomics—part of the aspirational politics on which the party wants to base its campaign strategy. Only time will tell whether this will lead to the party’s win. As of now, everything appears to be going right for them.