Former Minister Sumedha G. Jayasena stated that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s involvement is essential if Sri Lanka Freedom Party is to win the forthcoming General Election.

Speaking to a local media channel, Jayasena said that the former president is still popular among the people in the villages in her area. Jayasena is a member of parliament of from the Moneragala District.

However, Jayasena said that she cannot comment on whether Rajapaksa should become the Prime Ministerial candidate of the SLFP in the next election. Rajapaksa has still not indicated if he is ready to contest the election, she pointed out.

Jayasena said that Rajapaksa should remain with the party for it to win the election.

However, Jayasena added that she has issues with the appointment of Former Uva Province Chief Minister Shashindra Rajapaksa to her district. She added that she cannot be satisfied with what he has done for the people.

She also stated that former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa is also responsible to some extent for the defeat at the presidential election in January. Otherwise, he would not have left the country immediately after the election, Jayasena added.