The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the most credible and the best organised Tamil nationalist party, swept the predominantly Tamil Northern Province,in the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections held on Thursday. But it had to yield the ethnically mixed Eastern Province to the Mahinda Rajapaksa-led United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
Political observers see this dichotomy as a serious blow to Tamil nationalism, which has been expecting the Tamil-speaking North and East to vote together, and act together, vis-à-vis the majority Sinhalese community.
NORTHERN PROVINCE: The TNA won the Jaffna town area getting 46.3 per cent of the votes cast. The UPFA came second with 34.2 per cent of the votes. The TNA won Vaddukoddai, Kankesanthurai, Manipay, Kopay, Udupiddy, Point Pedro, Chavakacheri, Nallur and Kilinochchi, bagging 45 per cent of the votes, on an average.
The only area won by the UPFA in Jaffna district is Kayts, Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda’s pocket borough.
However, the results in Jaffna district may not reflect support or lack of support accurately, because polling was only a little above 18 per cent. Jaffna had been manifestly indifferent to the elections despite appeals by all the Tamil political parties and political pundits. In the Wanni, which saw most of the fighting in the second phase of Eelam War IV, the TNA did well in Mullaitivu and Mannar getting 53 per cent of the votes in both places. The TNA also took Vavuniya , bagging 39 per cent of the votes cast.In all the areas of the Wanni, the UPFA was a formidable opponent.
EASTERN PROVINCE: In the Eastern district of Batticaloa, the TNA won only Padiruppu area. The rest of the electorates went to the UPFA represented by Col Karuna, a former LTTE commander who later joined the Rajapaksa government as a minister. However, overall, the TNA got more votes, and bagged 3 of the 5 seats.
TNA A PARTY OF NORTH LANKA:The TNA seemed to have done well in predominantly Tamil areas, with the notable exception of Batticaloa.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow TNN on Facebook and Twitter )