Colombo: A J Muzammil, Sri Lanka’s Provincial Governor, resigned and offered his allegiance to Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa hours after meeting with the Indian High Commissioner, according to media reports.
His resignation and support for Premadasa comes 16 days before the presidential election slated on September 21. Analysts believe that no presidential contender will receive 50% of the vote in the poll.
Muzammil was appointed Governor of the Uva Province in August 2020 by Sri Lanka’s previous leader, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The 75-year-old former Mayor of the wealthy Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) in the country’s capital served as governor under current President Ranil Wickremesinghe after Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned in July 2022 amid huge demonstrations and an economic crisis.
“I hereby record my disappointment in certain Governors who have been vociferously campaigning for various presidential candidates whilst holding the office of Governor,” Muzammil said in his resignation letter to President Wickremesinghe.
“I wish to inform Your Excellency that, after my resignation, I intend to support Presidential Candidate Hon. Sajith Premadasa,” he said.
Before resigning, he met with Santosh Jha, the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, at India House, the High Commissioner’s official home.
“The meeting was arranged at the Governor’s request,” an Indian High Commission official told EconomyNext.
“It is one of the regular meetings on political dialogue and bilateral relations,” the official said, adding that India has nothing to do with Muzammil’s resignation and his pledge to back Premadasa.
Muzammil has already shifted political alliances to cross-ruling parties before being promoted to high-level positions.
Muzammil’s recent endorsement for Opposition leader Premadasa comes four days after Sri Lanka’s biggest Tamil party, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), chose to support him in the next presidential election.
The ITAK’s decision came following a meeting with India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, last week.
According to the Sunday Times, a local weekly, Doval stated during the meeting that Tamil MPs should not “waste the votes of the Tamil people” and instead try to negotiate with a candidate who can win and secure the Tamil people’s desires via negotiations.
India has not overtly expressed its support for any presidential contender. During his visit, Doval met with the top four candidates: President Wickremesinghe, Premadasa, Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, and Namal, the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
India has long been negotiating with Sri Lanka for renewable power plants, land connections, port partnerships, and energy pipe connectivity, but many of these had yet to be inked by Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe.
India has also expressed worries about Chinese warships being permitted to research the seabed, citing security implications for the Indian Ocean region.
