Sajith Premadasa leadership faces familiar attacks, echoing opposition figures once branded weak before reaching Sri Lanka’s highest office.
The debate over Sajith Premadasa leadership is hardly new. Sri Lankan opposition leaders have repeatedly faced accusations of weakness, compromise and political indecision.
Many of those leaders later proved their critics wrong. Several became prime ministers or presidents, while some of their fiercest opponents eventually served under them or joined rival administrations.
That history raises an important question. Is Sajith genuinely weak, or is he facing the same political label once used against almost every major opposition leader?
J.R. Jayewardene and the “Crow Fig” Attack
J.R.P. Suriyapperuma famously used the “crow fig” comparison against J.R. Jayewardene.
Suriyapperuma described Jayewardene as a tree that could neither be cut down nor left untouched because crows gathered around it.
During the United Front government from 1970 to 1977, Jayewardene served as Opposition Leader. Younger figures, including Suriyapperuma and Jinadasa Niyathapala, accused him of failing to make the government feel his political presence.
When the administration sought to extend its term by two years, Jayewardene proposed that every UNP MP resign and contest a by-election.
Several MPs refused. Jayewardene then resigned alone, contested a by-election and returned to Parliament. However, he could not prevent the government from extending its term.
According to his biography, Jayewardene temporarily chose to “lie low.” That decision encouraged his internal critics.
Despite those attacks, he later became prime minister and Sri Lanka’s first Executive President. Several politicians who had described him as weak eventually served under his administration.
Anura and Sirimavo Faced Similar Accusations
After Jayewardene came to power, critics directed similar accusations at Opposition Leader Anura Bandaranaike.
His sister Chandrika Kumaratunga, brother-in-law Vijaya Kumaratunga and senior SLFP and left-wing figures accused him of maintaining deals with the government.
However, during the 1988 presidential election, Anura and Sirimavo Bandaranaike campaigned strongly against UNP candidate Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Meanwhile, supporters of Vijaya Kumaratunga, including Ossie Abeygunasekera, fielded a third candidate. The article argues that this divided the opposition vote and helped Premadasa win.
After the 1989 general election, Sirimavo became Opposition Leader. Anura and several younger MPs then accused her of being too soft on the Premadasa administration.
Yet Sirimavo eventually introduced the impeachment motion against President Premadasa. Anura and members of his faction later joined the UNP.
Ranil and Mahinda Were Also Branded Weak
Ranil Wickremesinghe faced the same criticism after becoming Opposition Leader in 1994.
The Gamini Dissanayake faction accused him of lacking strength. When Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government appointed a Bribery Commission targeting senior UNP figure Wijayapala Mendis, Ranil removed Mendis from the party Working Committee.
Ranil said the decision demonstrated that the UNP remained committed to clean government. However, senior members accused him of following the government’s wishes.
Despite the criticism, Wickremesinghe became prime minister in 2002. Some of his critics later joined Kumaratunga’s administration.
Mahinda Rajapaksa experienced a similar campaign while serving as Opposition Leader during Ranil’s premiership.
Members of the Chandrika faction and the JVP alleged that Mahinda had reached an arrangement with Ranil. They claimed Wickremesinghe had helped make him Opposition Leader and that Mahinda followed his agenda in Parliament.
Mahinda later defeated Ranil, became prime minister and subsequently won the presidency.
Sajith Premadasa Leadership Faces the Old Script
The attacks resumed when Sajith Premadasa became Opposition Leader in 2020.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had lost control of the opposition, and JVP leaders headed by Anura Kumara Dissanayake accused Sajith of maintaining a deal with Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
However, before the Aragalaya, Sajith led a large protest towards the President’s House under the slogan “Gota Go Home.”
When Gotabaya offered him the premiership, Sajith imposed conditions. These included a six-month interim government, the abolition of the executive presidency and Gotabaya’s resignation.
Ranil, who had accused Sajith of dealing with Gotabaya, later accepted the premiership without those conditions. The article describes that appointment as entering government “through the back door.”
The article further argues that the Rajapaksa family installed Ranil as prime minister and later president to weaken Sajith, whom they viewed as an obstacle to Namal Rajapaksa’s future.
It also claims Ranil contested the 2024 presidential election to divide Sajith’s vote and assist Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Who Really Benefited From the “Weak Sajith” Narrative?
Today, many of those describing Sajith as weak are identified in the article as Ranil loyalists and SLFP members who assisted Anura’s 2024 victory.
That group allegedly includes politicians who refused to surrender ministerial positions when Ranil served as Acting President and discussions began over an all-party government.
Sri Lankan history shows that opposition leaders from J.R. Jayewardene to Ranil Wickremesinghe faced allegations of weakness, hidden deals or political surrender.
Several later reached the presidency.
An Opposition Leader receives authority through voters and Parliament. Constantly attacking that leader as weak may not damage the government. Instead, it can strengthen the administration by dividing those challenging it.
When governments eventually enter crisis, the article argues, some of the people who attacked the Opposition Leader often become the first to rescue or join the ruling establishment.
The 2024 presidential contest ultimately narrowed to Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Sajith Premadasa. Ranil’s intervention, according to this argument, helped Anura secure victory.
That leaves one unanswered political question. If defeating Anura was truly the priority, why did those who repeatedly called Sajith weak refuse to support him?
