-By LeN Political Editor
(Lanka-e-News -24.June.2025, 4.45 AM) The Secretary-General of Sri Lanka’s Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Ranjith Madduma Bandara, has reportedly fled the country after a string of crushing political defeats, including the humiliating collapse of an attempted coalition to capture local government power.
The dramatic development comes in the aftermath of the Local Government Elections, in which the SJB and its allied “deal-making cliques” suffered resounding defeats across the board. Madduma Bandara, once regarded as a key strategist behind Sajith Premadasa’s centrist opposition bloc, is now alleged to have left Sri Lanka under a cloud of political disillusionment and inner-party turmoil.
Critics have noted the timing of his departure — coinciding closely with the decisive date to establish control over the Colombo Municipal Council, a prize long sought by opposition factions desperate to consolidate power in the capital.
Political analysts suggest that a major falling-out with party leader Sajith Premadasa may have precipitated the sudden and unannounced exit. Sources close to the SJB leadership confirm that Madduma Bandara had grown increasingly frustrated in recent weeks, citing his concern that the party was floundering under Premadasa's leadership and unable to mount a credible challenge to the rising National People's Power (NPP) movement.
A hastily formed coalition — which brought together the SJB, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the United National Party (UNP), and several minor groups — was aimed at seizing control of key urban councils. But this broad alliance was rejected soundly by voters, and the SJB’s hopes of using a power-sharing mechanism to keep the leftist NPP out of municipal power were dashed.
In a televised interview shortly before his disappearance, Madduma Bandara claimed that the NPP, despite winning 48 seats in the Colombo Municipal Council, would not be able to secure effective control. However, when asked how many seats the SJB had secured, his hesitant response — “Twenty-nine” — betrayed the reality of his party’s diminished standing.
Insiders within the SJB claim that Madduma Bandara had grown increasingly isolated in recent days, reportedly telling close confidants that it was “no longer possible to continue under Sajith’s helpless leadership.” Party sources now acknowledge that his departure, though abrupt, may have been the culmination of months of internal dissent and strategic misfires.
While no official statement has been issued by the SJB regarding Madduma Bandara’s exit, the silence has been deafening. Rumours swirl as to whether this marks the beginning of a deeper internal crisis within the party, which was once touted as the island’s principal opposition force.
The NPP, now emerging as the dominant urban political force, has capitalised on the disarray within the traditional parties. Its success in Colombo, combined with the credibility crisis enveloping both the SJB and SLPP, points to a significant realignment of Sri Lanka’s political landscape ahead of upcoming national elections.
As for Ranjith Madduma Bandara, his sudden self-exile raises more questions than answers. Is this a temporary retreat, or the final curtain for a man who once stood at the forefront of Sri Lanka’s opposition movement? For now, the streets of Colombo are quiet, but the political undercurrents suggest a storm is gathering.
-By LeN Political Editor
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by (2025-06-23 23:12:25)
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