The JVP will also put forward a candidate if UNP national leader Ranil Wickremasinghe contests the next presidential election, Western Provincial Council Member K.D. Lalkantha has stated to local media.

He says that it will not necessarily be a member of the JVP. The party may put forward even someone outside it, he has told.

Lalkantha has mentioned that there is a belief among the public that a opposition common candidate will be able to defeat President Rajapaksa in the next presidential election. However, these hopes will be jeopardized if Wickremasinghe decides to contest.

He also acknowledges the fact that a JVP candidate will divide the opposition vote. But in a backdrop where both President Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremasinghe are involved in campaigning for an election which will be held sometime in the future, the JVP also has no alternative.

Meanwhile, several days ago, Minister Wimal Weerawansa had stated that Ranil Wickremasinghe will either contest the election or put forward a weak common candidate who could not defeat President Rajapaksa.