Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Wijith Vijayamuni Soysa said Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) would contest the Local Government election under the hand symbol.

The minister, addressing a press conference in Colomboyesterday, said the party had no need to postpone the election. 

"We are now preparing for the Local Government polls. We are doing work at the grassroots level. We are in the process of strengthening party branches in villages," he added. 

The Minister said the SLFP was not ready to drop former President Mahinda Rajapaksa like a hot potato. 

"We want to collaborate. But, we need to find a mechanism for that. That's why we proposed to have a 'ceasefire' on the ground without fighting with each other," the Minister said.