September revolution

With his Marxist ideology and anti-corruption rhetoric, Anura Kumara Dissanayake has captured the imagination of Sri Lankans

- LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

It is 4pm on a Sunday evening at Homagama, a Colombo neighbourhood. Small groups of working class people walk into an open ground for an election rally.

An hour later, the ground remains half empty. High decibel speakers belt out popular Sinhala numbers.

By 6pm, darkness engulfs the area as rain clouds gather high up in the sky.

Soon, it starts raining, but, by then, the venue is full. People unfurl their umbrellas and wait for the leader to arrive.

It is almost 8pm when a man, clad in jeans and a blue shirt, walks on to the stage. The crowd laps up every single word of his speech. Anura Kumara Dissanayake has that effect on people. Political observers say his people skills are impeccable. They point to his unique disarming style while dealing with his party colleagues, parliamentarians, ambassadors, political aides and even his detractors. And that could be one of the factors that has helped him win over a significant number of voters and emerge as a leading contender this presidential election.

Rooted in the Marxist-Leninist ideology, the 55-year-old Anura leads the National People's Power, a coalition of leftist political parties and socialist groups. The leading party in the coalition is the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, headed by Anura. With his strong anti-corruption credentials, Anura, who is the sitting MP for Colombo district, is running an energetic campaign against the two other main candidates, President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.