Election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake as Sri Lankan president is like a knotty poser more for US, than India

X: @prashanthamine

New Delhi: The election of 55-year-old Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Anura Kumara Dissanayake, or Anura Kumara Dissanayake for short, or better known by his acronym AKD, as the 10^th President of Sri Lanka has presented itself as a knotty problem more for the United States of America (USA), than for India.

The US and most of its western allies had been pinning their hopes on a victory either for past president Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, Namal Rajapaksa or even for former army general Sarath Fonseka. Anura Kumara Dissanayake was not even considered in the contest and ranked fourth by the US and its allies.

His election seems to have outwitted most of the election observers and experts alike who were hoping for either Ranil Wickremesinghe to retain the presidency or Sajith Premadasa to win the September 21 presidential elections in Sri Lanka. In the end Wickremesinghe, Fonseka and Rajapaksa were thrown out of the race and it became a two-way contest between Premadasa and Dissanayake.

Part of that perception was borne out of the fact that in the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential elections Anura Kumara Dissanayake had polled just 3% of the votes. This time it was a complete reversal with Dissanayake polling 42.31% of votes. However, neither did Premadasa who came second with 32.76% votes, managed to poll required 50% preferential votes to win the presidency.

The poll result was a tight-slap for all those who were rooting for the pro-West leaning candidates. Little did anyone notice that the Sri Lankan people were fed up with the economic crisis since it unfolded in March 2022 that led to the ouster of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The people were rooting for the Left leaning, Marxist, Anura Kumara Dissanayake who had pitched himself as pro-poor and anti-corruption crusader. Before his election, AKD had favoured renegotiating the $4 billion assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that its terms and conditions were somewhat unjust.

Although Anura Kumara Dissanayake began his political career from his student days with the Left leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which is part of the National Peoples Power (NPP) alliance, now seems to have charted a middle path of diplomacy.

Following his victory, Dissanayake has been calling for a fresh start and unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all Sri Lankans calling it as a bedrock of a new beginning. He expressed optimism that a new Sri Lanka would rise from this shared strength and vision, and a fresh start to realise the country’s aspirations.

India had been playing cautiously, maintaining a neutral stance in the run-up to the presidential elections. The Government of India had hosted Dissanayake early in February this year in New Delhi. His remarks that he will not allow any one country to use its waters, land or airspace against India, may ally some concerns in New Delhi. However, his intentions to relook at the Adani group’s wind power project in north-eastern Sri Lanka is bound to raise concerns again in New Delhi.

Another long-standing unresolved issue of 37 years is the implementation of the 1987, 13^th Amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution that followed the Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Accord signed by former Sri Lankan president J R Jayawardene and late Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in Colombo in July 1987.

The JVP had led a bloody anti-India rebellion against the Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Accord. It remains to be seen as to what stance does Dissanayake take on its implementation after having termed it against the interest of Sri Lanka and after having given a call for national unity to Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all Sri Lankans to overcome the economic difficulties facing Sri Lanka.