A small booklet has been distributed among the Gampaha District Sri Lanka Freedom Party activists working on the campaign to bring back former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

According to the booklet, there are several ‘operations’ within the larger Operation “Forward with Mahinda”, which is overseen by Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga. The strategy given out in the ‘operational manual’ shows a well planned, centralized political mobilization and agitation campaign, geared towards bringing back former president Mahinda Rajapaksa to power.

The objective of the first operation is to unite different groups, who urge for the return of Mahinda Rajapaksa through various grass-root level activities. Pocket meetings are to be held where representatives of the campaign should speak. Village level representatives should act as communications agents, reporting the political situation to the center of operations, the booklet states.

Meanwhile, there is a set of guidelines for the speakers to build up their speeches in pocket meetings. They are to convince listeners that the objective of President Maithripala Sirisena and former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is to destroy the SLFP and create a UNP government. Meanwhile, the speakers are advised to tell listeners that there is a pro-Rajapaksa wave and Rajapaksa will climb on to stage at the next “Arise with Mahinda” rally.

The argument that Mahinda Rajapaksa camp can win the next general election is being supported on the grounds that the 6.2 million votes polled for Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Election came from a number of parties. Rajapaksa was the overall winner in the island, except in the north and east, the booklet argues, adding that the diaspora supported Sirisena too. At the general election those who supported Sirisena will contest separately, giving a clear advantage to the Rajapaksa camp, the booklet argues further. The speakers are urged to convince their listeners of this fact at pocket meetings.

An explanation on Bodu Bala Sena is to be given in these pocket meeting speeches too. Speakers are advised to convince listeners that it was an ‘upstart’ group and former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had nothing to do with it.

Furthermore, the booklet advices the activists of the campaign to take the lead in protest actions against any shortcoming on the part of the government in the villages, so as to create the impression that the government in inefficient.