The massive mudslinging campaign against the NPP by parties in the government has become a major challenge to the National People’s Power (NPP), according to NPP Candidate Bimal Ratnayake. Ratnayake said the same lies are disseminated through various outlets such as state media and social media to establish it. “Do they attack the UNP or the SJB? No. But they go after the NPP with a vengeance” Ratnayake said.
According to him a large number of floating votes will move towards the NPP this time. This is clear because on observation one can notice that the government often attacks the NPP and not parties like the United National Party (UNP) or the Sajith group.
Ratnayake pointed out that the NPP as a political force also stands in as a moral force in the country. “Therefore we are not only an electoral threat but also a moral threat for the SLPP and UNP” the former MP noted.
“They are attempting to portray to the public that we are the same as them. That we are thieves just like them. These mudslinging campaigns are taking place in an organized manner. Anything with integrity, rationality or principles is seen as a threat and attacked” he said.
“But we have proved to the people that we are not thieves that have misused public funds. For example, when it was said I have bought five BMW cars for my wife, we offered to give one to anyone who can prove the claim. We have proved that many of these allegations are false but they continue to be propagated through media to be established as truths among their loyalists” he added.
Therefore according to Ratnayake not having the media space to disseminate the NPP’s messages and to counter these attacks is the main challenge faced by the party.
Ratnayake also noted that it is difficult to predict this election.
“Prior to Covid 19, it was highly likely that the government would have secured a majority. However, those in the government themselves like Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has said they will only be able to secure around 115 seats. Meanwhile, there is a major rift in the UNP. This shows there will be a major shift in the voter base. There is a question to which camp floating voters who previously voted for the Sri Lanka Podhujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the UNP will move to. This is unclear. But we believe we will perform much better than at the Presidential election” he noted.
