It is an illusion if UNP thinks it can win single-handedly

• Whenever there is an election around the corner, the UNP gets panicked

Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said it would be an illusion for some people to believe that the United National Party (UNP) could win the next presidential election single-handedly.   

He said, “the UNP itself has to sort out its problems. It is not a problem relevant to us. We are not UNPers. I am a party to the UNP- led alliance called United National Front (UNF). It is not our business to meddle with the UNP problems,”   

Referring to the proposed alliance called National Democratic Front (NDF), he said discussions were conducted for two years with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He said all the UNP leaders such as Sajith Premadasa, Mangala Samaraweera, and Malik Samarawickrama were there during negotiations.   

“Whenever there is an election around the corner, the UNP gets panicked. There are too many leaders. If they think that they can win, it will be an illusion. We don’t mind,” he said.  He said he, along with a few others, stood by the UNP during the 52-day period government last year.   

“If we had switched sides, there would have been a different result. Yet, we stood firm. The UNP would have been defeated even in 2015 if it had gone solo,” he said.