Maithripala Sirisena's ties with India expected to be friendly

Chennai: From being a low-profile minister and an ardent fan of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena has emerged as Sri Lanka’s new President surprising all by not just being a giant killer but also scoring a handsome victory margin. The new President has promised a fresh foreign policy that would mend Colombo’s ties with the international community, a clear admission that Mahinda had messed up the Lankan relations with the West and India, and it would be corrected now.

Mr Sirisena made no pre-poll promises either to India or to the Tamils in the island but the informed insist there have been backstage deals with Delhi and the Tamil National Alliance ruling the Northern Province.

Read | Maithripala Sirisena sworn in as Sri Lanka's new president

Declaring friendship with the Tamils before the poll could have been dangerous for Mr Sirisena as Mr Rajapaksa’s campaigners would then have criticised him as succumbing to the rebels in the north. In fact, he had campaigned in Jaffna just once while Mr Rajapaksa went there thrice and even delivered speeches in Tamil, saying, “We can talk and resolve issues”. “Sirisena’s relationship with India is surely going to be very friendly,” said a senior minister.

In the run-up to the elections, Mahinda’s men slammed Sirisena as Judas as he had walked out of the President just a day after sharing dinner with him. Sources in Colombo, however, insisted that Sirisena’s exit was long expected and “some foreign powers” were involved in the “shift at the right time” to become the Opposition’s common candidate. Sirisena has made his 100-day plan, promising to deliver corruption-free administration and a new democratic political culture in the place of Mahinda’s authoritarian family rule.

He has also promised steps to do away with executive presidency, but for which he would require two-thirds majority in Parliament. It is expected that he would be ‘helped by some friendly neighbours’ to get to that comfortable number in the House so as to carry out the much-needed administrative and political reforms.

“Sirisena’s relationship with India is surely going to be very friendly. True, Mahinda was friendly too but then, he was not entirely transparent in his dealings with India’s enemies. He kept harping on how they (China and Pakistan) had helped him during the war (with LTTE). Now the new President does not have such bad baggage”, said a senior minister requesting anonymity. “He is sure to be India’s good friend though it may take some time and a lot of effort to unwrap the huge Chinese interests here”, he said.