Rajapaksas tighten stronghold in Sri Lanka as fourth brother Basil joins cabinet as FM

Tightening its control over Sri Lanka, a fourth Rajapaksa was sworn into the Sri Lankan cabinet on Thursday with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's younger brother - Basil Rajapaksa taking oath as finance minister, as per international reports. Basil (70), who took oath as a member of parliament, took over the finance ministry from PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. Basil has already been part of Mahinda's 2005 government, often being heralded as Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party's key strategist. With the inclusion of Basil, who holds a dual US-Sri Lankan citizenship, there is a Rajapaksa at all the top posts in the island nation.

Fourth Rajapaksa sworn into Srilankan cabinet

Apart from Basil, another Rajapaksa sibling - 78-year-old Chamal - the eldest Rajapaksa already holds the Ministry of Irrigation and is a junior defence minister. Meanwhile, Mahinda's son Namal Rajapaksa is the minister for youth and sports. As per reports, Basil will contest in the next presidential election, in a bid to succeed his brother Gotabaya. With the inclusion of Basil, there are seven Rajapaksas currently in power - President Gotabaya, PM Mahinda, ministers Chamal, Namal, Basil and MPs Sashindra (Chamal's son), Nipuna Ranawaka (nephew). Moreover, Chamal's son Shameendra is a Private Secretary to multiple ministries, Mahinda's son Yoshitha is PM's chief of staff,  Chaminda Rajapaksa is a Presidential Adviser while brother-in-law Dr. Lalith Chandradasa is tipped to be the next Sri Lankan Consul General in Los Angeles.

 The Rajapaksas rise

Mahinda Rajapaksa's presidency from 2005-2015 was hugely popular among Sri Lanka's Sinhalese population for ending Sri Lanka’s 37- year-long civil war against the Tamil Tigers in 2009. After leaving office in 2015, he contested for the Prime Ministerial elections but lost to Ranil Wickremasinghe. In 2018, he was appointed as Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena after Wickremesinghe lost the support of the United People's Freedom Alliance. While two no-confidence motions were passed, President Sirisena rejected them. After the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional, suspending Rajapaksa's powers as Prime Minister and forcing him to prove his government's legitimacy, he resigned as PM.

Meanwhile, his brother - Gotabaya -  the former defense chief of the nation, won the Presidential elections in November 2019 after running up his campaign mainly on security, in the wake of the Easter bombings. Gotabaya, feared by the 15% Tamil minority, led the Sri Lankan Armed forces successful war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - Velupillai Prabhakaran in 2009. Gotabaya easily defeated his main contender - Premadasa, son of assassinated former president Ranasinghe, garnering 52.87 percent of the votes.

Later, amid the COVID pandemic, he dissolved the Parliament in March and called for early snap elections, naming his brother Mahinda as Prime Ministerial candidate. The Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party won 145 seats in the 225-member parliament in the election, ushering in Mahinda's fourth term as PM. On being re-elected, the Rajapaksa govt repealed the 19th amendment - which established a Constitutional Council to exercise some executive powers held by the President, replacing it with the 20th amendment, bestowing broad unchecked power to the clan.