India’s relief at peaceful poll, Rajapaksa’s triumph

There is a sense of relief in New Delhi at the reelection of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, 64, in the Sri Lanka elections.

What seemed in the beginning as a cakewalk for Rajapaksa when he decided to opt for elections two years ahead of the end of his tenure, turned into a no-holds barred battle with the entry of former Army chief Sarath Fonseka into the field.

Though no one took Gen Fonseka seriously who shed his uniform to don civilian clothes to contest as the main opposition nominee, he did cause some flutter with the media going out of the way to build him up, projecting him as a tough rival to Rajapaksa. The final results showed that the fight was not close at all, as was expected.

But the shrewd Rajapaksa had calculated the odds were heavily weighed in his favour and ultimately Fonseka would prove a paper tiger. Neutral observers are not surprised at Rajapaksa ‘s triumph. The victory margin leaves no doubt that the majority of Sri Lankans trust him to hold the country together and believe his promises during campaign.

Assuaging the fears and mistrust of the Tamil population was top priority and the incumbent President campaigned extensively to convince the population on the need to give him a second term to serve the people better. Despite the hectic campaign of Fonseka, the Jaffna and Vanni Tamils who stayed away with barely 20 per cent casting their vote, did not add much to the tally of Fonseka as was widely speculated.

India has noted with satisfaction the high turn out of 70 per cent of the voters which has belied fears there could be violence during polls. Though allegations of possible rigging were flying high, especially in the opposition camp, in the end, Rajapaksa’s convincing margin of victory effectively scotched such charges.

New Delhi’s relations with the Sri Lanka President have been cordial.

Rajapaksa had told the media he had been in touch with New Delhi and was convinced that the neighboring country would prefer a civilian president, than an army general considered politically naïve and driven more by personal ambition to occupy the highest post, and not motivated by any public interest.

Despite intense pressure and lobbying from the pro-Sri Lankan Tamil parties in the South, India had scrupulously avoided giving any impression of meddling in the domestic policies of Sri Lanka government. But Central ministers did express concern at the plight of displaced Tamil refugees from the war zone and their miserable living conditions after the end of military offensive against the LTTE.

New Delhi’s interest in Sri Lanka developments flows from its desire to have a stable neighbour. Any unrest or ethnic violence there would have its impact on India. India has been having cordial ties with the regime in Colombo for long and has been working steadily to improve economic ties. The Presidential election was a test of people’s mood in the post-LTTE scenario, and to whom they want to give credit for bringing back peace to the Island nation.

India's investment in its neighbor in the coming months could be expected to increase. Slowly but steadily, India is now on its way to outsmart Chinese presence in Sri Lanka. A plus point for India was that neither Rajapaksa nor Fonseka made India an issue during the election. This will facilitate increased Indian investment in Sri Lanka, like in Bangladesh.

India had sent in 250,000 family rescue packs to the internally displaced persons during the war. In 2010, India has already given $105 million in assistance to the country, making it the single largest grant in one year to any country.

To boost his popular appeal, Sri Lanka observers expect Rajapaksa to come up fast with a political package for the north, empowerment in the east and speed up reconstruction and send the IDPs back home. India already has seven demining teams at work on the ground while starting a comprehensive agriculture initiative. But its big projects – estimated at over $700 million -- will be to speed up connectivity in the north, particularly through two big railway projects. The northern railway project and the Medavachiya-Talaimanar railway will put the north on the Sri Lanka map again, but notably, it will be the point of connectivity with India too.

- Asian Tribune -