Anura Kumara Dissanayake swearing-in ceremony highlights: PM Modi, Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and others extend wishes to Sri Lanka’s 9th President

Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday took oath as Sri Lanka’s new president and said he will usher in a “Renaissance” for his country. In his inaugural address to the nation, Mr. Dissanayake said, “I assure you that I will do my best to preserve democracy and work towards restoring the honour of politicians as people have misgivings about their conduct.”

“I’m not a magician. I’m an ordinary citizen born in this country. I have abilities and shortcomings. I have things I know and don’t know. My first task is to make use of people’s talents and know-how and make better decisions to lead this country,” he said. 

Later in a post on X after the swearing-in ceremony, Mr. Dissanayake said, “I promise to fulfill your responsibility to usher in a new era of Renaissance for this country, and I look forward to your collective contribution to that.”

The CPI(M) congratulated the people of Sri Lanka for voting decisively and electing Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the country’s new President.

“The Communist Party of India (Marxist) congratulates the people of Sri Lanka for voting decisively in the Presidential elections held after their massive struggle, Aragalaya,” the CPI(M) said.

The 2022 Sri Lankan protests, popularly called Aragalaya, were a series of mass protests against the country’s government, triggered by an economic crisis.

“Anura Dissanayake, leader of the JVP and the National Peoples’ Power (NPP), was elected as the ninth executive President of Sri Lanka in these elections. The victory of a Left candidate in the Presidential election, for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka, is a historic occasion,” the CPI(M) said.

“We are confident that President Anura Dissanayake would lead the country on the path of socio-economic development, progress and welfare, ensuring the rights of the minorities. We wish him all the very best in his endeavours,” it said. — PTI

With Anura Kumara Dissanayake emerging as the newly elected President, our expert panel featuring Amit Baruah, Nirupama Subramanian, and Meera Srinivasan provide an in-depth analysis and discuss on what the outcome means for the country’s political landscape.

Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday said that he shares Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties. “Thank you, Prime Minister Modi, for your kind words and support. I share your commitment to strengthening the ties between our nations. Together, we can work towards enhancing cooperation for the benefit of our peoples and the entire region,” Mr. Dissanayake said.

Mr. Dissanayake, 56, the leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party’s broader front National People’s Power (NPP), defeated his closest rival Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday he hoped to deepen ties with Sri Lanka as he congratulated the island’s new leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka on his inauguration, state media reported.

“I attach great importance to the development of China-Sri Lanka relations and am willing to work with Mr. President to continue our traditional friendship (and) enhance mutual political trust,” Mr. Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV. 

Mr. Xi said he hoped that bilateral cooperation under his flagship Belt and Road (BRI) initiative would “bear more fruit”, CCTV reported. - AFP

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said, “Congratulations and best wishes to Anura Kumara Dissanayake on being elected as the Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.”

“May our countries continue to work together towards mutual growth and progress,” the former Congress chief said.

The Congress on Monday congratulated Anura Kumara Dissanayake for his victory in the Sri Lankan presidential elections, and said the people of India look forward to strengthening ties and shared values for the benefit of the region.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “On the behalf of the Indian National Congress, I extend my heartiest congratulations to Anura Kumara Dissanayake on being elected the Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.” India and Sri Lanka have a rich legacy of multi-faceted cooperation and interaction, which dates back centuries, he said in a post on X. 

University of Jaffna academic Mahendran Thiruvarangan described the poll outcome as a “positive” one. “The NPP is a political formation that represents some of the core demands of the Aragayala [people’s struggle of 2022]. Their victory is reason for optimism,” he told The Hindu.

Although Mr. Dissanayake’s camp began working on a grassroots campaign soon after its poor show in the 2019 presidential poll as well as the 2020 general elections, it came under greater focus after the mass uprising two years ago, that saw citizens emphatically demand “system change”. The outcome of this presidential poll reflects the disenchantment of the people with the existing political culture, according to Pradeep Peiris, political scientist from the University of Colombo. “What you see is not necessarily support for his specific proposals or policies, but simply an emphatic anti-establishment vote,” he said.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday for his congratulatory wishes on winning elections. In a post on X, Mr. Dissanayake highlighted strengthening ties between India and Sri Lanka and stressed working towards enhancing cooperation.

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The 55-year-old, also known as “AKD” entered leftist politics in his student days. It was the youngster’s hostility to the state and ruling class that led him to the student wing of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP of People’s Liberation Front), a party of Marxist-Leninist origins.

Since the late 1980s, the party’s political profile has changed considerably. In its first insurrection in 1971 the JVP had an anti-imperialist and socialist character, aiming to overthrow capitalism and transform political, social and economic institutions. But by the 1980s, the JVP took a decidedly more Sinhala-nationalist turn, fiercely opposing accommodation of Tamil political claims for self-rule and India’s involvement as an arbiter when the country’s ethnic conflict exploded into war, following the anti-Tamil pogrom of July 1983; in which the party was falsely implicated by the United National Party government of J. R. Jayewardene (uncle to President Ranil Wickremesinghe) and banned for some years.

After this revolt was crushed and the party legalised, the JVP’s course shifted in 1994 when the new leadership joined the political mainstream entering parliament. Mr. Dissanayake himself secured a seat in 2000 and served as Minister of Agriculture in the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike between 2004 and 2005. In 2014, Mr. Dissanayake was named leader of the JVP, succeeding Somawansa Amarasinghe. - Meera Srinivasan

After being sworn in as Sri Lanka’s ninth president on Monday, Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, “Will work to inspire confidence of the people who did not vote for me. Will understand the complex task ahead and will work to meet aspirations of people.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Anura Kumara Dissanayake for his victory in the Sri Lankan presidential election and said he looks forward to working closely with him to further strengthen the Indo-Lanka multifaceted cooperation.

Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, 55, the leader of JVP, defeated his closest rival Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in Saturday’s election.

The election was the first to be held since mass protests unseated Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022 after the country suffered an economic crisis.

In his inaugural address to the nation, Mr. Dissanayake thanked outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe for respecting the people’s mandate and facilitating a peaceful transfer of power.

When Mr. Dissanayake, popularly known by his initials “AKD”, entered leftist politics in his student days, becoming the country’s president one day was probably the furthest from his mind. It was the youngster’s hostility to the state and ruling class that led him to the student wing of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP of People’s Liberation Front), a party of Marxist-Leninist origins. He came from a small farmer household that was not politically active. His father was an office aide in the government Survey Department and his mother was a homemaker. ​Read more​

Mr. Dissanayake who was officially declared President-elect by the Election Commission of Sri Lanka after it completed a second count of votes to add preference votes, secured 42.31% of the votes. Mr. Premadasa was in the second spot with 32.76%, while incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe came third with under 20% of the vote share. The three candidates dominated the election, which was the first to be held after the economic crisis of 2022, the worst seen in the country since its Independence. Thirty-five other contestants were in the race, including Namal Rajapaksa, son of Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Tamil candidate P. Ariyanethiran. Read more