Tamil National Alliance(TNA) Parliamentarian S. Viyalendiran has pledged his support to  SLPP Presidential Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Viyalendiran had supported Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Joint Opposition during the constitutional crisis last October while the TNA pledged its support to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He was sworn in as Deputy Minister  Regional Development (Eastern Development), a position he held for a few days. Viyalendiran was subsequently sacked by his party, the Democratic People’s Liberation Front (DPLF), the political wing of People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) a constituent of the TNA.