Photos Farook Sihan By Easwaran Rutnam Former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran is making a strong bid to challenge the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and become the main player in Sri Lanka’s Tamil political arena. Wigneswaran, who has been focusing his political work in the North, last week shifted focus to the East and even opened a political office in the area. The Tamil Makkal Kootani headed by Wigneswaran opened a political office in Batticaloa in an attempt to garner support from the Tamil-speaking people in the area. The TNA’s voter base is mainly in the Tamil-dominated North and East, and Wigneswaran is now making a bid to challenge the TNA in those areas. Wigneswaran was introduced into politics by the TNA and was supported by them to become the Chief Minister of the North in the 2013 elections. However, he fell out with the TNA in his final couple of years as the Chief Minister and eventually decided to part ways and form his own political alliance. Last week in Batticaloa, Wigneswaran said that he decided to form his own political party after the TNA failed to meet the expectations of the Tamils. He said that 10 years after the war, the Government was still failing to address key demands of the Tamils, including the issues of militarisation of the North and East, providing justice for war victims, enforced disappearances, releasing political prisoners, land, and political solutions. Wigneswaran also noted that no efforts were being made by the TNA to put pressure on the Government on the issues faced by the Tamils, and instead, they are only focused on their own wellbeing. Tamils want an alternative Former TNA Parliamentarian and Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front Leader Suresh Premachandran said the Tamils feel that the TNA had failed to deliver on its promises, and they therefore needed an alternative Tamil leader. Premachandran told The Sunday Morning that Tamils in the North and East seem to be placing their faith in Wigneswaran as he was a former Supreme Court judge and had legal knowledge as well as a strong desire to address the issues faced by Tamils. “The TNA has only been supporting the United National Party (UNP) Government and has done little to ensure that the issues faced by Tamils are addressed by the Government. The process to draft a political solution through a new constitution was among the issues which this Government dragged its feet on,” Premachandran said. He said that his party already had key discussions with Wigneswaran on working together and they were likely to reach a final agreement soon. A member of Wigneswaran’s new alliance, Ananthi Saseetharan, said the TNA had also failed to put pressure on India to push for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. She said that while the TNA was going about its normal day-to-day activities, the Tamils’ issues were being sidelined. Saseetharan, who was also a part of the TNA before she split, said that under Wigneswaran, the new alliance hoped to meet the international community and ensure the demands of the Tamils were met. She said that Wigneswaran’s policy was in line with her expectations, so she would work with him and Premachandran and ensure the issues faced by Tamils were not buried. Cracks emerge However, the new alliance is already having its share of internal rifts. Saseetharan said that Tamil National People’s Front Leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, who initially extended support to Wigneswaran, has now parted ways with the former Northern Province Chief Minister. She said that Ponnambalam had not been happy with the support Wigneswaran had obtained from some political parties. Ponnambalam had reportedly placed some tough conditions in order to extend his party’s support to Wigneswaran. Attempts had been made to bridge the differences. Yet, those attempts have so far ended in failure. Meanwhile, Wigneswaran had also reached out to the Muslims in Batticaloa, urging them to work together with the Tamils as Tamil-speaking people. The former Supreme Court judge said that the Muslims were now suffering like the Tamils suffered and it was time that both the Tamils and Muslims united. At a meeting with some Muslims in Kalmunai, Wigneswaran discussed their concerns including the concerns over moves to establish a separate Tamil administration unit in the Kalmunai Divisional Secretariat. TNA confident Responding to the issues raised on the TNA, People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) Leader and TNA Member MP Dharmalingam Siddarthan said that he still felt the TNA had wider support among Tamils. He also dismissed the views that Tamils were shifting their support away from moderates like the TNA to hardliners like Wigneswaran. Siddarthan said that while Wigneswaran was very popular at the start, that popularity has seen a drop as his views are not endorsed by most Tamils. He also admitted that support for the TNA has dropped, especially since it could not deliver on the political solution issue. “Some Tamils certainly feel there is a need for an alternative Tamil political party, but I don’t think there is an alternative out there. The Tamils do not see Wigneswaran as the alternative that they need,” he said. Siddarthan also refused to accept the opinion that the TNA had failed to meet the aspirations of the Tamils. He asserted that the TNA had worked hard towards ensuring the rights of Tamils were protected and while there may be some shortcomings, overall, the TNA had achieved a lot and continued to have the support of most Tamils in the North and East.