India less of an issue in Sri Lanka's elections, local factors prevail | Politics news

Yash Sinha, former Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, agrees.

“For the people of Sri Lanka, this election is an opportunity to overcome the trauma of the economic hardship they have just experienced and an opportunity to express their views. … India does not matter.”

For voters this time, economic reconstruction is the priority. India is investing in the Trincomalee port and its expansion, the Kankesanthurai port, the Sampur solar power, the Three Islands power project (which was snatched from China), an oil pipeline from Nagapattinam to Trincomalee, wind power projects in Mannar and Pooneryn, and the completion of the Comprehensive Economic and Technical Agreement. The Chinese ambassador has made a rare public criticism of Sri Lanka for suspending the Three Islands project for “unknown reasons.” Yet these projects have played little role in the presidential candidates' campaigns, except for a recent television interview in which the leading presidential candidate, Anura Dissanayake, spoke openly about Indian private companies in Sri Lanka and the lack of transparency in negotiations over the price per unit of energy these companies sell to Sri Lankans, and promised to look into it.

Sinha said it was unlikely that this would go far. “India was the first country to respond with medicines and equipment during Covid, and stepped in with $3.9 million in aid after the economic collapse. But it is becoming increasingly clear in Colombo that government funding from India to Sri Lanka cannot be endless. The private sector is being encouraged to invest in Sri Lanka – with the understanding that if private sector projects get caught in a political tug-of-war, investors will simply up and leave. After the recent economic trauma Sri Lanka has gone through, no one wants that.”

Saravanamuttu said the rights of Tamil minorities in the north and east remained an important political element – but the context was different. “Reviving the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or any similar organisation is no longer possible. But issues of human rights, those 'disappeared' during the war and transitional justice, truth and reconciliation were important issues in the election campaign. These, not Eelam, are at the forefront.”

Several Indian commentators have pointed out that with the success of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu, the priorities of the Dravidian parties have changed and are now much more focused on domestic politics.

Journalist and analyst Rathindra Kuruwita believes that India still has strategic interests in the presidential election and in choosing its candidates. Sinha, however, said that one must keep an eye on the provincial council or state-level elections that will be held after the presidential election.

First published: September 20, 2024 | 10:48 p.m. IS