By Vishwamithra –

“Music is the arithmetic of sounds as optics is the geometry of light.” ~ Claude Debussy

Last week Thalatha Athukorale exposed Sajith Premadasa‘s lack of ability to lead a political party that is almost on the cusp of capturing power at the forthcoming elections. What Thalatha’s motive is, one may not know, but the very fact that one of the leading woman members of parliament of the SJB making such allegations, vicarious as well as direct, would not sound all that palatable for the SJB leader. At a time when each party which is represented by a Presidential candidate needs to portray itself as a united and cohesive group that is loyal to its leader, such exposure as was done by Thalatha would not hold well for Sajith’s chances at the coming elections. Meaningless pontification on the public platform will be seen as just that- meaningless. It reduces the stature of the leader to a puny size and it is not a very cozy corner to be in.

On the other hand, Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) is on totally different wicket. He is being attacked, left, right and center that he hails from the old JVP, an ultra-left-wing political party representing outdated economic theories and practices. AKD’s rivals have gone to enormous lengths to establishing that. But AKD, having transformed the old JVP ideology into a political party, National People’s Power (NPP) that believes in the just and fair performance of the positive aspects of modern capitalism believing in a governance philosophy bordering more on the modern liberal democracies in northern Europe than that was established as a Marxist/Leninist state-controlled apparatus of the Communist Party. That transformation is remarkable while the meandering along traditional political lines as assumed by the other parties in Sri Lanka today is boring and mind-deadening. In another stubborn sense, AKD’s past JVP-affiliation and its transformation into a legitimate and acceptable political entity, NPP, has enhanced his astute character.         

In such a profound context, what is at stake on September 21 is not the fate of those candidates who have submitted their nominations for the contest. It is much larger than that. Every election results in some, players or spectators, ending up winners or losers; in the case of Presidential Elections, losers and one winner. Voters may have done their duty by their country; by opting to cast their ballot but whether they end up winners or losers would be seen after at least five years of the election. It is such an unkind exercise from the point of view of the voter. The last President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not last more than two and half years. Such a comical and melodramatic finale in the entire episode may well be the first time but surely  not the last.

The stakes are much larger than life. Those candidates whose egos have been exaggeratedly pumped up may choose to listen to their own voices; they may react to their mass rallies with vigor and false authenticity with waving hands or with traditional Lankan way of saying Ayubowan with closely clasped hands. A keen observer will always tell an authentic one from the superfluous.

Although the options available for the voter seem to be more than three or even four, the eventual contest may end up between two candidates: Sajith Premadasa representing the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) and Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People’s Power (NPP). Yet one could perceive the fight as one between protecting the old, existing system, status quo and introduction of a new system. If the playing field is defined in such binary terms, the voter’s choice and his vacillation between the two becomes exaggerated. In such a scenario, those who have engaged bright and talented Ad and Public Relations (PR) firms (of course, at a steep price), would be competing amongst themselves. Television industry is bound to make extra profits, thanks to this fierce competition. But will the candidates too gain some extra miles as it is they who ultimately be tested by the voter.

Modern day electioneering, as in the rich playing fields in the West, has evolved as a robust exercise of the forces of the market economy. The candidates at the elections would be portrayed by the said Ad and PR firms as heroes and patriots beyond comparison. But the average voter living in the countryside might not be aware of the crafty ways and means employed by the candidates’ respective parties. The projected strengths and durability of the candidates as per the presentations and demonstrations crafted by their Ad and PR firms would eventually matter. In politics as in almost everything else, optics and image matter and they do very decisively.

Nevertheless, despite the extraordinary lengths and breadths these Ad and PR firms choose to go, authenticity of the candidate cannot be overestimated. The very authenticity in itself is foolproof optics. It oozes out of a genuine and sincere individual, unless he or she is a quintessential actor. The optics of the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa disembarking from the plane and kissing the ground was fantastic optics in the context of the euphoria of all countrymen after the war-victory against the dreaded forces of Prabhakaran and his Tigers. Mahinda Rajapaksa as President created such priceless images and the Pohottuwa machinery went to extraordinary extents to project a fake image of the Rajapaksas and their kin. Fortunately or unfortunately for the Rajapaksas, the PR team that created such an admirable smorgasbord of imagery was the one owned and operated by one of the thirty nine candidates who have submitted his nomination papers for the Presidential Elections, Dilith Jayaweera. I am sure the same team and talent would be applied to push Jayaweera’s candidacy this time. Optics and its exclusive significance in politics cannot be exaggerated and nor could it be foreclosed.

However, when one speaks about the two leading candidates, namely Sajith and AKD, the dynamic balance that needs to be maintained by the protagonists, image against the real, neither can afford to make a slip. The people are no fools; they are not only observant, they are keen judges of character too. Sajith’s father used to portray himself as a poor man’s hero. But unlike the father, Sajith, the son, tends to do his acting too much especially in the era of the social media. The watchers and listeners are keen and discriminating to the extent of being irksome when they realize that they are being taken for granted.

Sajith’s failure in projecting an image of an eternal care-giver in an unmitigated authentic sense and the very artificial tone of his voice, the unbelievably exorbitant amounts of money he spends to hand ‘goodies’ to schoolchildren make his efforts utterly cosmetic and fake. It is being alleged that a well-known casino owner in Colombo is financing his program and thereby corrupting the value on both shades of the giving: genuineness and ulterior motive. Whatever President Premadasa has tried to impart into his only son as to how to deceive the electorate, Sajith has not learnt. One cannot say: like father, like son, except in the case of the sheer transparency of the falseness of the character.

However, we do not know much about Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s private life; in order to review  the  plusses and minuses of his public life one must, therefore necessarily delve into the stories and tales told by his close associates such as his school or university friends, his teachers at the Thambuththegama Gamini Maha Vidyalaya, Thambuththegama Central and Peradeniya and Kelaniya University. Whomever you speak to, the picture that comes out is one of humility, candor, hardworking and extremely ambitious. There are no scandalous tales; no skeletons in the proverbial cupboard and nothing extraordinary either.

Born to poverty and being a product of rustic fabric in the dry zone, AKD has never made any attempt, direct of vicarious, to hide his humble beginnings and lack of so-called elite pedigree. Authenticity seems to be the only badge he wears without any hesitation but with extraordinary disposition.

Yet the optics in politics do matter and the extent to which Sajith is willing to travel in order to shade his original colors may have had an effect at the very outset of his campaign and he seems to have fallen in love with such a delusional extravaganza of personality cult. As his father President Premadasa, Sajith too is displaying his narcissistic tendencies. Those who are close to him now have  books and chapters of tales to tell in that regard. Yet the people at large are totally oblivious of such hackneyed obscenities. In fact Sajith’s love for his own persona has assumed Donald Trump-like proportions. Yet the people at large may not be aware of such excesses.

Over dependence on optics can kill a well crafted PR campaign. Sajith’s has not yet reached that nadir, but the pace at which he is traveling, that destination may not be too far. Sajith’s primary failure is not being able to read the character of his friends and foes. It happens when one’s self-love becomes overwhelming and out of control. Sajith is fast approaching that point. His failure to read the mind of the electorate was shown on the day he chose to visit the grounds of the Aragalaya-22. Being chased away so unceremoniously has not taught him a lesson. He seems to be living in a different universe and in that universe, he does not see any any enemies and rivals, only servants and disciples. It is a forlorn and barren neighborhood. Growing up and reaching adulthood consists of being thrown down to the ground and even being trampled by the electorate. When that happens, one must find resilience and raw guts to stand on your own and say, ‘I shall rise again’. Sajith does not seem to possess that rare quality of boldness and bravery and humility. He thinks he is larger than life. Unfortunately for him, he has to realize that there is something in life from which one can learn more than one can impart into.

Thalatha Athukorale’s exposure of Sajith’s worthlessness in leadership in parliament was not shocking, neither surprising. Sajith could have easily compromised with Thalatha because her friends in the SJB are quite close friends of Sajith’s too. Kabir Hashim and Imitiaz Bakeer Marker could have easily intervened and arrived at a settlement if Sajith