New Delhi, September 23 (IANS). Sri Lanka, which is facing economic crisis, has got a new president. Anura Kumara Disanayake has taken oath as the 9th President of Sri Lanka on Monday. He is the first leftist leader who has reached the post of President of Sri Lanka. In such a situation, it becomes important to know who is Anura Kumara Disanayake and how much impact will India-Sri Lanka relations have after he takes over the command of Sri Lanka.
In fact, this was the first presidential election after the rebellion in 2022 due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. A total of 39 candidates were contesting for the post of President in this election, out of which the main contest was between former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara.
55-year-old Dissanayake heads the National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, which also includes his Janata Party Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the People’s Liberation Front. His coalition won the election, after which Anura Kumara was elected as the new President of Sri Lanka.
Earlier, he came into the limelight in the year 2022, when a mass uprising took place during the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, he emerged as the main face of this movement. During the uprising, he raised the voice of the people. Due to this, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced to leave power. His popularity increased after this incident. Not only this, when elections were announced in Sri Lanka, he prominently raised the issue of improving the country’s economy during the election campaign.
It is said that leftist leader Anura Kumara has close ties with China, which can also have an impact on Sri Lanka-India relations. During the election campaign, he had commented on many ongoing schemes with India and had talked about stopping them.
Let us tell you that Anura Kumara Dissanayake came into the limelight for the first time in the year 1987. During this time, his party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) opposed the peace agreement between Sri Lanka and India in the 80s. India was already keeping an eye on the Sri Lankan elections. However, now it is feared that after his election as President, some big changes can be seen there.
–IANS
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