If the collaboration between President Maithripala Sirisena and former President Mahinda Rajapakse collapses, the former President is most likely to contest under the symbol of the budding flower.
The Budding flower is the changed symbol for the Sri Lanka National Front which formerly had the symbol of the Cricket bat and will be named anew, Our Sri Lanka Freedom Front.
Though United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) General Secretary Susil Premajayantha recently made a release under his signature that President Sirisena has agreed to give the former President nomination from the UPFA to contest the upcoming general election it is speculated that this may have been a release made by the UPFA Gen. Secretary without the consent of the President.
However new alliances are being made and crossover are rampant. SLFP treasurer S.B Nawinna has decide to contest the election with the UNP ticket while it is been discussed in the grapevine that Arjuna Ranatunga is also currently discussing the possibility of an alliance with the UNP.
A majority of the SLFP central committee is apparently backing Mahinda Rajapakse’s nomination however the Kumaratunge faction is adamantly refusing to agree with this.
President Maithri’s statements imply that he is reluctant to discard the national verdict given in the Presidential election.
