Asela Kuruluwansa
Pradeep Nilanga Dela has been re-elected as the Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.
The meeting to appoint the lay guardian of the Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic was held at the Senkadagala Buddhist Hall in Kandy, under the patronage of the Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs, R.M. Gamini Seneviratne.
It was earlier announced that Pradeep Nilanga Dela, Daminda Udurawana, A.W.S. Bandaranaike, Mahacharya Thilak Subasinghe, Gamini Kaluhendiwela, Roshan Priyadarshana, and Nanda Madugalle would contest for the post.
However, as no voters came forward to propose the names of Mahacharya Thilak Subasinghe, Gamini Kaluhendiwela, Roshan Priyadarshana, or Nanda Madugalle, they were not allowed to remain in the meeting hall.
At the time of the election, the contesting candidates were Pradeep Nilanga Dela (the incumbent Diyawadana Nilame), Daminda Bandara Udurawana (Basnayake Nilame of the Pasgama Sri Natha Devalaya and the Kandy Maha Kataragama Devalaya), and A.W.S. Bandaranaike (Basnayake Nilame of the Abbekka Sri Kataragama Devalaya and the Kandy Maha Natha Devalaya).
Eligible voters included the two Mahanayake Theros of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters, the lay and monastic guardians of the Rajamaha Viharas of the Kandyan Kingdom, the Basnayake Nilames, and the Divisional Secretaries.
Of the total votes cast, Pradeep Nilanga Dela received 195 votes, Daminda Udurawana received 50, and A.W.S. Bandaranaike received 13.
Accordingly, Pradeep Nilanga Dela will continue to serve as the Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa for another 10-year term, until 2035.
First elected to the post in 2005 with 199 votes, and re-elected in 2015 with 205 votes, Nilanga Dela now becomes the longest-serving Diyawadana Nilame in the history of the Sri Dalada Maligawa.
