The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) - comprising five political parties here - on Monday named retired Sri Lankan Supreme Court judge C.V. Wigneswaran its chief ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections.
The TNA is said to have a good chance in the NPC polls to be held this September, as the party has traditionally had a support base in the Tamil-speaking northern regions of Sri Lanka.
Over the last week, the TNA met several times to finalise its candidate for the NPC polls.
According to reliable sources in the Alliance, its leader R. Sampanthan was rather keen that Justice Wigneswaran be fielded. The other camp within the TNA was backing Jaffna-based parliamentarian Mavai Senathirajah.
Senior politicians with the TNA, who did not wish to named, said that some of them within the Alliance believed justice Wigneswaran, an erudite scholar who was regarded highly in legal and social spheres, would be the best candidate to tackle legal issues pertaining to the functioning of the Northern Provincial Council post elections.
All the same, others felt that justice Wigneswaran may not have adequate field engagement, which is usually considered a prerequisite for a sound political career, they said.
However, a statement from the TNA on Monday said “it was unanimously resolved that the candidate for the position of Chief Minister at the forthcoming Provincial Council elections for the Northen Province would be Mr. C. V. Wigneswaran.”
