Rajapaksa in the fray for Lanka parliament

Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa today filed his nomination papers to fight the August general election under the ruling UPFA coalition, eyeing the prime ministership of the country.

Rajapaksa, 69, who was unexpectedly defeated by his own deputy, Maithripala Sirisena, in snap presidential polls he called in January this year, submitted his papers on the last day of for filing nominations from north-western Kurunegala district. Before Rajapaksa, none of his predecessors had stood for parliament polls after demitting the presidency.

The former strongman has left his native Hambantota district for Kurunegala - the <g data-gr-id="27">third largest</g> electoral district in the island with 1.2 million voters - for the first time since he entered politics in 1970.

Kurunegala has significant voter base of soldiers, among whom Rajapaksa enjoys quite a popularity for leading the victorious military campaign against the LTTE.

Rajapaksa, the hero of the Sinhala majority for crushing the Tamil Tigers, was defeated in the?January 8 presidential election by Sirisena.

However, Sirisena surprised many including his allies by allowing Rajapaksa to contest under the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) after resisting the former president’s re-entry into politics following his shock victory. Accused of siphoning off millions during his decade-long tenure, Rajapaksa and his family members face multiple charges of graft under the new regime.

<g data-gr-id="26">Nominations were</g> closed today for the?August polls to elect a 225-member assembly.

Incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe filed his nominations to contest from the Colombo district. He leads a broader front of anti-Rajapaksa groups. In a speech on July 1, Rajapaksa did not say if he was aiming to become prime <g data-gr-id="30">minister,</g> but chose to invite “all political parties to join hands” with him for the August 17 vote.