Turbulent 2019: Rajapaksa dynasty returns to power post-Easter attacks in Lanka

Sri Lanka's powerful Rajapaksa dynasty made a come back in 2019 with former defence chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa storming to victory in the presidential polls promising stringent security in the wake of the island's worst terror attack that killed nearly 270 people on the Easter and brought to the fore the deep-rooted differences within the unity government.

Coming out of the constitutional crisis of the previous year, Sri Lanka had a turbulent run from the beginning of 2019 and faced its toughest security challenge as nine suicide bombers from a local extremist group struck three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo on April 21.

The Buddhist-majority nation was about to mark a decade since ending a 37-year-long Tamil separatist war in May 2009 when the Easter attacks rocked the country, killing 269 people.

Since the 2018 constitutional crisis triggered by then President Maithripala Sirisena's sacking of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the seeming compromise by both sides following apex court's intervention, both the leaders were virtually running parallel states and it was confounded by the Easter bombings, claimed by the ISIS-linked National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

The warnings by the Indian intelligence about a possible terror attack in Sri Lanka were said to be ignored by the authorities due to the deep running political tug of war.

After the attacks, the then president Sirisena had said that a friendly neighbour provided additional information but senior officials did not share the intelligence with him. Also, the then prime minister Wickremesinghe said he was not privy to the intelligence reports.

A series of panels were appointed by both factions of the government to probe lapses in ignoring warnings for the attacks, which crippled the country's tourism industry.

Sirisena's probe resulted in the unprecedented jailing of the then police chief and the top defence ministry administrator, while a parliamentary probe pinned the president's shortcomings in handling the security apparatus.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is credited with ending the country's three decades old civil war, chose the right moment, three days after the Easter attacks, to declare himself the presidential candidate even without any official endorsement from his big brother and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

It was only four months later that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was anointed the presidential candidate from the Rajapaksa family – in their quest to regain power in the island after being ousted unexpectedly in 2015.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa defeated the ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa by more than 13 lakh votes and was sworn-in as Sri Lanka's seventh president on November 18, marking the return of the powerful Rajapaksa dynasty.

He named former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister after incumbent Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) resigned from the post following the election debacle.

The emergence of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the new Sri Lankan President has opened up new vistas in the Sri Lanka-India relationship.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his election manifesto outlined a new beginning – that he was looking for a new relationship with India. This came in the backdrop of accusations by Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had blamed India and the West for his defeat in the 2015 presidential election.

As Gotabaya Rajapaksa instilled some hope in India about his pledge for a new beginning in the bilateral ties, New Delhi lost no time.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made an unscheduled dash to Colombo to meet the new Sri Lankan leader. The message was clear - the Indian government is keen on renewing the relationship and to flourish the bilateral ties, notwithstanding the chequered past.

India, it appears, wants to cultivate better ties with Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was seen as more pro-China than his elder brother.

India also hopes that Gotabaya Rajapaksa will take forward the process of national reconciliation to meet aspirations of the Tamils.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited India on his first overseas trip after winning the elections and vowed that Colombo will maintain a warm and mutually beneficial relationship in all aspects with New Delhi.

India offered a USD 400-million credit line to Sri Lanka for development of its infrastructure and economy during his visit to New Delhi in November.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced another USD 50 million credit line to help improve security in Sri Lanka following the Easter attacks. India is already providing counter-insurgency training to Sri Lankan police officers.

Politics aside, Sri Lanka went through a period of slow economic growth with the country's economy growing at its slowest in 18 years and the tourism industry still reeling since after the Eater attacks. PTI CORR PMS ZH SCY