 "Sri Lanka's newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reads a document after being sworn in as president at the Presidential Secretariat, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, September 23, 2024. Reuters")
Anura Kumara Dissanayake has taken oath as Sri Lanka’s new president. The National People’s Power (NPP) coalition leader won the September 21 presidential election in the island nation by 1.27 million (12.7 lakh) more votes than his nearest rival, Sajith Premadasa.
Popularly known as AKD, the 55-year-old leftist leader heads the Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). His party is known for previously stoking up anti-India sentiments in Sri Lanka. AKD is considered close to China, which does not bode well for New Delhi’s interests in the Indian Ocean island.
What will Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s election mean for India? Let’s dive deeper.
Who is AKD?
AKD campaigned as the candidate of ‘change’ in the Sri Lanka presidential elections, the first since the 2022 protests over the economic crisis that booted the Rajapaksa clan out of power.
Born in November 1968 at Thambuttegama in Anuradhapura district, the new Sri Lankan president describes himself as the son of “working-class parents”.
The Marxist-Leninist leader was a part of student politics during his college days. He joined the JVP in 1987 during the party’s anti-government insurrection.
AKD was first elected to parliament in 2001. He rose through the ranks and became the JVP’s presidential candidate in 2019. However, AKD secured just 3.2 per cent of the votes in the last elections.
According to The Week, AKD’s popularity grew in Sri Lanka due to his leadership role in the 2022 Aragalaya movement. The protests over the unprecedented economic crisis led to the resignation of the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
While Dissanayake did not take credit for the protests, he was successful in convincing people he was the outsider and the candidate for “drastic change”, as per Frontline.
Establishing himself as the anti-corruption leader, AKD has promised to bring economic relief to the island nation. He has also vowed to abolish the powerful executive presidency in Sri Lanka and renegotiate the terms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
“The implementation of the IMF programme has caused significant hardship for the people. That is why we are seeking a new mandate from the public to renegotiate with the IMF. In pursuing economic goals, we must advance in a way that alleviates pressure on the public…. We aim to make the necessary changes gradually to ensure long-term stability,” AKD was quoted as saying by The Week.
AKD has now become Sri Lanka’s first Communist president.
What does AKD’s victory mean for India?
AKD is seen close to China, which is trying to increase its presence in the island nation. Sri Lanka has already handed over the strategic Hambantota Port to Beijing on a 99-year lease.
Speaking to Deccan Herald (DH), R Bhagwan Singh, a long-time Sri Lanka watcher, said that AKD’s win in the elections is a “challenge” for New Delhi. “AKD’s natural ally will obviously be China and it remains to be seen where his handshake will be firmer and smile warmer – with Narendra Modi or Xi Jinping,” he said.
AKD became well-known in 1987 during the JVP’s insurgency against the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF), which had landed in Sri Lanka to disarm the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
His party, the JVP, opposed the India-Sri Lanka accord of 1987, signed by the then Lankan President JR Jayewardene and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Sri Lanka assumes importance for India given its geographical proximity to Tamil Nadu. The island nation has a significant number of Tamils – who make up 11 per cent of its population – in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
New Delhi has been pressing Colombo to implement the 13th Amendment, a provision in the Sri Lanka Constitution that deals with sharing political powers with Tamils.
As per The Tribune report, Tamils in Sri Lanka worry that Dissanayake could scrap the 13th Amendment.
India has been a friend to Sri Lanka, providing $4 billion in aid to the island nation to help it wade through the economic crisis. After this, many Indian projects that were pending in Lanka were kickstarted.
Now, there are fears that AKD’s rise could threaten some Indian conglomerates’ projects in the country.
“The next one year is crucial and if Anura consolidates his position in Sri Lanka, it will only be music to China’s ears as he will now lean more and more towards the Communist nation,” Singh, the Sri Lanka-watcher, told DH.
Can AKD ignore India?
It does not seem so.
Despite his party’s past anti-India stance and his perceived pro-China leanings, AKD has shown keenness to engage with New Delhi.
He has toned down anti-India rhetoric and talked about the necessity to bolster bilateral ties with New Delhi while ensuring Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and interests.
Acknowledging AKD’s ascent in Sri Lanka, India invited Dissanayake in February this year when a delegation led by him met External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval.
An Indian official told Frontline, “India can do business with Dissanayake. After all, at the end of the day, no one can wish us away.”
Experts say India will be watching the Sri Lankan president’s move concerning China. New Delhi needs to maintain friendly ties with Colombo not just due to its strategic interests in the Indian Ocean region but also to find the answer to the Tamil question in Lanka.
According to DH, AKD realises India’s importance but more steps are needed to bridge the “trust deficit” on both sides.
With inputs from agencies