Geethanath Kassilingam, previously serving as the Coordinator Secretary for former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and a close ally of Rajapaksa’s son Namal, has been appointed to the Central Committee and Political Bureau of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) amidst the party’s latest restructuring. A Jaffna Tamil, born in Jaffna and raised in Colombo, Known for his school ties with Namal, Geethanath is stepping into a crucial role at a time when the party, known for its staunch Sinhala nationalist stance, is grappling with lost credibility in Sinhala regions due to the economic blunders of Gotabaya Rajapaksa during his presidency.
Geethanath has been given a task akin to selling meat during the Nallur Temple festival. His mission? To ramp up the party’s charm in the Tamil-majority Northern and Eastern provinces, where SLPP’s support is as scarce as good governance in Maithripala Sirisena’s ‘Yahapalana’ (good governance) government.
With such a slim fan base in these Tamil-speaking areas, Geethanath’s role is as challenging as finding a needle in a haystack. But considering his background as the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Rehabilitation Issues there, he might have the right strategies up his sleeve. It’s a wait-and-see game to determine if he can make the improbable happen.
