Drama at Felix’s house over ‘rejected’ UPFA candidates

A major drama took place at former Minister Felix Perera’s house at Keppetipola Mawatha, Colombo, on Sunday night, over some UPFA politicians whose applications for nominations were turned down by the party. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had visited Perera’s house on Sunday night where a meeting was scheduled to take place between Rajapaksa and some members of the nominations committee, including UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha.

Former Parliamentarian Sudarshini Fernandopulle and several other provincial level politicians of the UPFA had also been present at Perera’s house by the time the former President had arrived. Soon after his arrival at Perera’s residence, Rajapaksa had said he needed a serene place for the meeting. The first floor of the former minister’s house was arranged for the meeting and Rajapaksa held a closed door meeting with the UPFA General Secretary and nomination committee members over candidates’ lists in Colombo and Gampaha. Perera, Fernandopulle and other provincial council members waited on the ground floor until the end of the meeting.Informed UPFA sources said former President Rajapaksa had insisted that former Parliamentarian Duminda Silva should be allowed to contest on the UPFA ticket. Last week, Duminda Silva carried out a poster campaign in Colombo extending his support to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his “comeback bid”. Rejection of Sarana Gunawardena’s nomination had also been raised at the meeting. However, Sarana Gunawardena’s wife has been accommodated in the UPFA list for the Gampaha district, in place of her husband.Towards the end of the meeting, Premajayantha had walked out of the meeting room holding his head in pain, complaining he was feeling faintish. Those who were present at Perera’s house had assumed that he was feeling faintish due to fatigue and low blood sugar. When asked about the matter, former Minister Perera told the Daily News that Premajayantha had a hectic schedule over the last few days due to the UPFA nominations.A few minutes later, the UPFA General Secretary was taken away from Perera’s house as he needed some rest. Later, Rajapaksa had left for a meeting in Piliyandala where he was informed by former Minister Dinesh Gunawardena that the UPFA General Secretary had been admitted to Nawaloka Hospital, Colombo. Rajapaksa had suddenly left the meeting to check on the condition of Premajayantha and to ensure the “safety” of nomination papers, UPFA sources said yesterday. However, Premajayantha was discharged from hospital early yesterday morning and he was present at the Colombo District Secretariat to hand over the party’s nomination papers.