Ranil Plots a Comeback, but SJB Isn’t Ready to Dance to His Tune

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, fresh out of hospital and still nursing the bruises of arrest, remand and bail, is once again reaching for the spotlight. He wants his party’s September 6 convention to be a showpiece of “opposition unity,” but the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) isn’t exactly lining up to hand him the stage.

Ranil has promised to lift the suspension on those UNPers who crossed over to Sajith Premadasa’s breakaway camp back in 2020. It’s his olive branch – but many in the SJB see it as Ranil trying to reclaim lost ground rather than genuinely building bridges.

The UNP has even shifted its convention from the familiar turf of Sirikotha to a “neutral” venue, hoping to lure SJB members into the tent. But insiders whisper that while Sajith and a few loyalists might show face, the SJB has no intention of letting Ranil take the lead. “He’s welcome to follow,” one senior SJB figure quipped, “but not to direct the parade.”

The sudden thaw in relations – Sajith’s hospital visits to Ranil after his incarceration – looked promising. Yet, behind the polite smiles, old wounds remain. The SJB still remembers 2020, when the UNP’s implosion paved their rise. They don’t plan to let Ranil rewrite that chapter so soon.

Adding more colour to the drama, invitations have gone out to Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena. If they show up, expect plenty of side-glances and whispered speculation. After all, Sirisena already stood on a platform calling to “defeat the constitutional dictatorship” – a theme now picked up as the rallying cry of the entire opposition.

So yes, Ranil wants a grand show. But whether this becomes a comeback concert or yet another political flop depends on whether the SJB sings along – and right now, they’re not ready to hum his tune.