The Hindu : They are no more `kingmakers'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 28, 2004

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International

They are no more `kingmakers'

By V.S. Sambandan

HATTON (SRI LANKA), MARCH 27 . For nearly three decades, Sri Lanka's economically weakest voter — the plantation hand — was the `kingmaker' in Parliament. "Not so now," says O. Jeyaraj, the proprietor of a pharmacy near this upcountry town about 125 km from the capital, Colombo.

After a lifetime in the estates, Mr. Jeyaraj is convinced that the traditional leadership has not served well. In its own way, the Nuwara Eliya electoral district, with 4.36 lakh voters and seven MPs in the island's 225-member Parliament, is symbolic of a common strand in Sri Lankan politics — deep political divisions in which personal animosities outweigh ideological differences. Pitted in direct contest are two political parties, the time-tested Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and the Upcountry People's Front (UPF), which since the mid-nineties has eaten into the CWC vote-bank.

In addition to the national-level issue of peace, at the local level, housing, employment and education are the three main problems the plantation workers grapple with on a daily basis.

At the larger ideological level, the UPF, led by P. Chandrasekaran, advocates a Tamil nationalist line, openly supports the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and is for "raising Tamil consciousness in the plantations."

In sharp contrast, the CWC, under a new and younger leadership of Arumugan Thondaman, is moving outwards from its consolidation of the plantation workers to accommodate Sinhalese and Muslim interests as well.

At the larger level, however, the outcome of the plantation vote is likely to favour the ruling UNP, as both the contestants were Ministers in the UNP-led Government. "They are all the same. They will join together and fight separately depending on their personal whims," reasoned Poosamuthu, a tramp, sitting outside a plush tea-selling outlet. "Our problems are likely to remain the same.''

Against this political and social backdrop, the vote-bank of the plantation voters, estimated to be about eight lakhs, spread across five of the island's 22 electoral districts is divided, thereby denting the CWC's bargaining capacity.

At the electoral level, the CWC has the advantage of contesting along with the ruling United National Party (UNP), under its popularly-known `Elephant' symbol — a key factor in an electorate with a literacy rate lower than the national level.

P. Sivaraj, the Deputy Mayor of Nuwara Eliya from the CWC is confident of his party's victory: "As people want peace, they will vote for UNP," he said. Mr. Sivaraj is also disturbed at the UPF's advocacy of the LTTE's line of thinking. "The UPF toeing a Tamil nationalist line is bound to go against them,'' he said.

In contrast, the CWC has become more inclusive and has taken into consideration Sinhalese and Muslim interests as well. "We are sure to win because the Sinhalese and Muslims will vote for us," an enthusiastic supporter said. Mr. Thondaman's style of functioning — "he decides and implements immediately, takes direct action," his supporters say — has also struck a favourable chord. The CWC's achievement during the last two years — new houses and securing the right of citizenship — are also its main campaign points.

"A time for change"

Detractors of the CWC, however, say that is not the case. "They spend money on liquor to influence the voter. If they had invested the money on our future, it would be different," reasoned Mr. Jeyaraj. "Now with people getting more educated, there is likely to be a move away from the CWC," he says. "This is the time to show the change," he reasons.

The UPF leader, Mr. Chandrasekaran, is emphatic that it is time for change. "There is no political awareness among the plantation workers," he argues. On the main charge against him — that he follows a Tamil nationalist line — he says: "Though the problems are different between the north and the estates, we are Tamils and a minority." Creating a "hill country" identity, he says is central to his line of campaigning.

But for the plantation workers, the basic problems remain the same. Living conditions are much lower than those in other areas.

Much of their meagre earnings are wasted and low wage rates force womenfolk to seek jobs as domestic labour in Colombo or in the Middle-East, triggering a complex set of social problems. "Even now after all the wage struggles, the plantation worker can take home only about Rs. 400 a month as savings," rues Mr. Jeyaraj.

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