Madduma Bandara rules out revamp of SJB while some MPs favour changes

SJB National Organizer Tissa Attanayake recommends a facelift  but says no formal discussion had taken place with regard to the matter

By Yohan Perera

There is no plan to revamp the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) despite reports that some MPs and party organizers have made such a request, party General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said yesterday.   

“There is no plan even to have a dialogue to this effect,” Mr. Madduma Bandara told Daily Mirror.   

Mr. Madduma Bandara said he is not aware whether any meeting has taken place between party leader Sajith Premadasa and a group of MPs or organizers who have called for a revamp of the party.   

However SJB MP Ajith P. Perera who responded to a question raised by the journalists about the reports on party reorganization said there will be administrative changes in the party soon. However he ruled out a leadership change. “We will face future election under Mr. Premadasa. Mr. Premadasa cannot be blamed for the party’s recent defeats. However, there will be administrative changes in the party,” MP Perera said.   

He also mentioned that the SJB was affected by the decision made by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to hand over the powers to the UNP leadership which did not have any political power during that time. “SJB suffered a setback as a result of the former President’s decision to hand over reigns to a group which did not  enjoy any power,” he said.  

SJB National Organizer Tissa Attanayake who commented on the matter said no formal discussion has taken place within the party. “It is good if there is a facelift in the party but no formal discussion had taken place with regard to the matter,” he told Daily Mirror.   

Meanwhile, it was reported that a group of electoral organizers and ten senior Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs have privately urged party leader Sajith Premadasa to replace long-serving senior officials and leaders, arguing that fresh, dynamic individuals are needed to regain public support after six consecutive election defeats.  

The group, during the meeting with Premadasa recently, had insisted it was unfair to place blame solely on electoral organizers when the party had lost two Presidential Polls, three General Elections, and the Local Government election in succession. They have warned that unless the party’s top office bearers are restructured immediately, future electoral chances would be equally bleak.  

Their strong appeal comes in the wake of preparations to remove several electoral organizers, citing accountability for the string of losses.  

The MPs and organizers countered that the SJB had a better chance of winning more seats at the General Election if the Presidential Election had been won, which could have been possible if they had entered a broader coalition with the UNP and other political groups.