By Jaffna District Parliamentarian S. Shritharan was elected as the leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) today.
He was elected with majority votes at a secret vote taken in Trincomalee to elect a new leader.
Parliamentarians M.A. Sumanthiran and former MP Sinnathamby Yogeshwaran also contested for the ITAK leadership.
School To Teacher Turned to Politician ;
Shritharan is from Kandavalai in Kilinochchi District and was educated at Jaffna Hindu College. And is a graduate of the University of Jaffna.
Shritharan taught at several schools in Kilinochchi District and was the principal of Kilinochchi Maha Vidyalayam prior to being elected to Parliament.
Shritharan contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the Tamil National Alliance electoral alliance’s candidates in Jaffna District and was elected to the ParliamentHe was re-elected at the 2015 and 2020 parliamentary elections
Assassination attempt:
On 7 March 2011, Shritharan was travelling in a van from Kilinochchi to Colombo to attend a meeting of Parliament the following day.[2] Traveling with Sritharan in the van were four others including a police guard. At around 5.30pm the van was on the A12 highway near Nochchiyagama, Anuradhapura District, when three men standing by a white van parked on the roadside pulled out guns and started shooting at Shritharan’s van. The men also threw hand grenades at the van Sritharan’s police guard fired back, forcing the attackers to flee in their white van which had no number plates. No one was seriously injured in the incident.[2] Shritharan has blamed the Eelam People’s Democratic Party.
Tamil Nationalism:
During the campaign for ITAK leadership Sitharthan stressed that he will stand for th merger of the Noth And East e
. “In order to create a system of self-government, the ITAK will take tangible steps to ensure that the East and the North are united, and the North-East will become suitable for the Tamils in that merged North-East soil. The ITAK will continue its journey in the same way that it nurtured national liberation and hitherto mobilised the people.”
The outcome of the results is yet to be seen and as the results are out many have said that this is a setback for Parliamentarian Sumanthiran who was the flag runner of the Tamil National Alliance, which is the grand alliance of Tamil Parties.
Sritharan, , defeated his rival Abraham Sumanthiran by 184 votes to 137 in the ballot.
