Leader of National Freedom Front Wimal Weerawansa said that former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s conduct was a main reason for the defeat of his brother former president Mahinda Rajapaksa in the recent presidential election.

He made this comment to BBC Sandeshaya when questioned about Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s comment in parliament that Wimal Weerawansa helped defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Weerawansa countered by stating that he actually helped increase the votes for Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He has said that Basil Rajapaksa centralized the authority of many functions towards himself and therefore it was hard to break the opposition argument on family rule. He added that Mahinda Rajapaksa could not prevent his brother from doing this.

Weerawansa has also added that Basil Rajapaksa prevented reforms and changes from taking place, which also helped the downfall of the Rajapaksa government.

He also said that the votes from the north and east were the crucial factor in the end result of the election. However, Weerawansa accepted that the disillusionment in the middle class at the Rajapaksa government played an important role.

Speaking about his controversial speeches during the election campaign, where he used terms such as “ayyo Sirisena,” Weerawansa has said that they did not defame anyone.