Despite claims former UNP General Secretary made saying he still holds the “key” to the UNP ground-level machinery, the main opposition party is about to launch its grassroots level campaign from next week, following the launch of its election manifesto.

Attanayake said he had the key to the “election-machine” of the party and when he left Sirikotha, the UNP headquarters, he brought the key with him. Attanayake said it would take at least three months for the new General Secretary of the party to find the key. It was clear that the former UNP General Secretary was referring to the ground-level machinery of the party – which operated under the purview of the General Secretary.

However, speaking to Asian Mirror, a senior UNP Parliamentarian said Tissa Attanayake did not have any secret information pertaining to the ground-level machinery of the party.

“Every minute detail with regard to the ground-level machinery of the party has been documented and there is no “secret-recipe”. Even when Tissa Attanayake was the General Secretary, we had photo-copies of those documents as there were rumours that he was holding secret negotiations with the government. Therefore, the statement he makes about his “key” to the ground-level machinery of the party is nothing but a frivolous one,” the Parliamentarian said.

When asked whether there was a delay in launching ground-level election campaign of the party, the Parliamentarian said they were waiting for the election manifesto of the Common Candidate.

“What can be ‘sold’ to the voters are included in the election manifesto. That is why we were waiting for the launch of the manifesto. By Monday, we would be in a position to launch our ground-level programme, including house to house campaigns,” he added.

Several top-rung leaders of the main opposition party, he said, are playing a vital role in the grassroots level campaign.