By The phrase “spilling the beans” may have originated from an ancient Greek voting method involving beans. Today, it refers to both intentional and unintentional information disclosure. Recently, presidential aspirant Dilith Jayaweera made damning revelations about the Rajapaksa family, . He is spilling the beans to brand him self as some one distant from the Rajapaksha’s .
Jayaweera is making it clear that he’s no longer aligned with the Rajapaksas and that he is some one with a mind of his own . However, he appears to be trying to win over their support base and prevent them from moving towards the NPP.
Jayaweera presents himself as an independent entrepreneur and political leader seeking to build a “happy Sri Lanka.” He launched the Mawbima Janatha Party (MJP).
Jayaweera claims that Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s defeat stemmed from a “conspiracy” within the family. Notably, he was a lead campaigner for Rajapaksa and used his media outlets for the election.
Political commentator Vishvamitra observed: “In a bid to repair his image, DJ made it very clear that he had burnt bridges with the Rajapaksa family. He identified what he believes caused the failure of GR’s presidency and the economic crisis. He said he knew President GR’s fate was sealed when Dr. P. B. Jayasundera became the Secretary to the President and Basil Rajapaksa became the Finance Minister.”
Jayaweera might calculate that his media power and strategic experience can carve out a space for him in the political sphere.
Rajapaksa Camp
He advocates for a Sinhala Buddhist culture that accommodates other ethnicities. He’s undoubtedly seeking progressive elements within the Rajapaksa camp and the floating vote.
Jayaweera labeled the JVP as hypocrites who opportunistically change their stance. He made these claims regarding the JVP’s anti-Indian rhetoric since its inception.
It’s undeniable that Jayaweera is heavily associated with the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime that economically ruined the country.
Whether his strategy and media power can produce a rebranded Dilith Jayweera remains to be seen.
In this process, he might reveal more about the Rajapaksa brothers’ operations, but he might not discuss his own role in them, which caused significant suffering.
The coming days will reveal if he can sell his “entrepreneurial state for prosperity and happiness” vision.
Despite past criticisms, Jayaweera undoubtedly brings something new to the political dialogue. The concept of an “entrepreneurial state” is a refreshing thought for Sri Lankan politics, largely locked in a welfare state ideology. It resembles the dreams embodied by companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Alibaba.
