Susanthika Jayasinghe to Contest Parliamentary Election 2010

Susanthika Jayasinghe, the top Sri Lankan sprint queen who won the silver medal in 200m women's at the Sydney Olympics confirmed herself to be contesting for the upcoming Sri Lanka General Election 2010. This is the second Sri Lankan sports personnel who confirmed entering politics in this election. Earlier, star cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya informed that he is going to contest the Parliamentary Election from UPFA list of his home town Matara. Susanthika Jayasinghe, following the same foot steps as Sanath, will contest the upcoming Sri Lanka General Election from the Kegall District where her home village is located.


Political analysts says, this will add momentum to the UPFA campaign in the upcoming election, as none of the prominent celebrity figures are coming forward this time to contest from the opposition nominations.


Contesting celebrities in election is a culture groomed by the UNP in Sri Lanka. SLFP on the other hand has remained critical of this practice. We have seen in the past, mega stars like Gamini Fonseka, Sanath Gunatilake, Sanath Nandasiri, Ravindra Randeniya, Rosy Senanayake, Ranjan Ramanayake entering politics from the UNP. JVP too contested some of the artists in past elections. But this time around, the artists and sports stars seems to be gathering around UPFA, whom earlier used to criticized the UNP's practice of contesting celebrities for elections.