Rajapaksa's move signalled that he would contest the snap polls, to be held on January 5, under his own party banner and not that of Sirisena's SLFP.
'It is up to New Delhi to take quick advantage of the turn of events in Sri Lanka. Otherwise, Beijing's economic clout and the deep roots it has grown in the island nation may well tempt the new President to play the India versus China game,' says Nitin A Gokhale.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's (JVP) broader front National People's Power (NPP), on Sunday consolidated his lead in the Sri Lanka's presidential election.
However, with the current advisory from India's Ministry of External Affairs against traveling to Bangladesh and considering the volatile situation, the ICC is preparing contingency plans.
Dealing with the Sirisena government in Sri Lanka, says G Ganapathy Subramaniam, is a lot easier for India than engaging with the Rajapaksa regime.
President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday congratulated Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on his re-election and expressed confidence that the country would find lasting peace in which all communities would live with dignity and harmony.
Delhi finds itself between the rock and hard place in the coming Sri Lankan election, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised on Friday to seek a political solution to address the ethnic conflict in a post-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Sri Lanka, even as a top UN official pressed Colombo to begin process of national reconciliation by accommodating "legitimate" grievances of Tamils.
Mathews made his T20 comeback for Sri Lanka in January after a three-year gap.
Arjuna Ranatunga was arrested on Monday for the first violent incident amidst the on going political crisis in the country.
Hasaranga too is returning from a chronic heel pain on his left leg, which forced him to miss the ongoing IPL.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday said that the government's fight was only against terrorism and that democracy will soon be restored in the embattled north of the country. Rajapaksa also said that the state was not against the Tamil people but against terrorists.
'We have to keep a watch because India-Sri Lanka has a history that whenever there has been a change in government, either the connectivity projects have been questioned or cancelled or revived.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during which key issues, including bilateral and regional, was discussed.
Ending months of speculation, Sri Lanka's vanquished former president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday announced his return to electoral politics, saying he will lead an opposition faction during the general elections in August.
A double-quick analysis of the Lankan election results would show that the relatively narrow victory margin of challenger Maithripala Sirisena was made up by the three minority communities of Tamils, Muslims and Christians, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sri Lanka's defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka on Tuesday filed a petition in the supreme court in Colombo challenging the results of the January 26 polls and accused President Mahinda Rajapaksa of rigging the vote.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ruled out greater political autonomy for Tamils, saying ethnicity-based division was 'not practical' for the country, appearing to back away from his promise made as part of the country's reconciliation process.
Demonstrators continue to protest outside the office of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo, Wednesday, July 13, 2022, the day the veteran leader was appointed acting president by the speaker of the island's parliament.
'The path to a resolution of the ethnic conflict is likely to be complicated and controversial with the majority Sinhalese community, and will become less likely if delayed.' 'It will certainly give Rajapaksa fresh political oxygen with which to revive himself and rally the opposition.'
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary Vaiko was on Friday detained by the police when he tried to move further from Gadchicholi to Sanchi to protest Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit.
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo and requested him to mobilise other Tamil parties in the northern province besides the dominant Tamil National Alliance to achieve political reconciliation.
Sri Lanka's newly elected president Mithripala Sirisena waves at media as he leaves the election commission in Colombo. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/ Reuters
For India to view the new Sri Lankan leadership only through the prism of the past or through their narrow view on China, is fraught with possibilities that should be avoided, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
A federal United States court has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, noting he is immune from lawsuits as a sitting Head of State. Dismissing the case on Thursday, the US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said that Rajapaksa has immunity as head of the State.
Over 15 million voters are eligible to vote in the election being held under electoral districts-based proportional representation system.
Sri Lanka enjoys good bilateral relations with India despite the anti-Lanka protests in Tamil Nadu, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Monday. Replying to a question on the simmering tension in Tamil Nadu vis a vis Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa said that he would welcome the politicians from the state to visit the island nation and witness its progress.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi on Friday said Narendra Modi's invitation to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his swearing-in was "not acceptable and unwelcome" by Tamils all over the world and urged the BJP leader to drop the initiative.
Amid protests by various political parties to his visit Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who arrived in Indian early on Friday morning, offered prayers at the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, soon after his arrival.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Friday led a state-wide protest against the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India, accusing him of making efforts to 'annihilate' the Tamils in the island republic.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his private visit to the country next week, against the backdrop of attacks on pilgrims from this country in Tamil Nadu.
While welcoming the landmark victory of Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Sri Lankan presidential polls, the United States has underlined the need for a 'thorough' probe into 'possible violation' of election laws.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's scheduled speech on Wednesday at the Commonwealth Economic Forum was cancelled, amid concerns about possible demonstrations by Tamil groups protesting against human rights violations in his country.
A defiant President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday once again rejected demands for an international inquiry into alleged war crimes during the military campaign against the LTTE, saying countries should not "dictate" to Sri Lanka.
Opposing the invitation extended to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko on Friday met Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh and demanded that the party should 'avoid' the presence of Mahinda Rajapaksa at Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
New Zealand find themselves in the a difficult group with two-time champions West Indies and Afghanistan also vying for the the top two spots.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday asked the Tamil National Alliance, country's main Tamil political party, to shed the 'LTTE mentality' and join hands with the government to deal with various contentious issues.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday appealed to the Tamil civilians, still trapped in the No-fire Zone, to come over to the "cleared areas" and assured that the government will ensure their safety.
Human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated in the war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam haunted Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the sidelines of the CHOGM summit with UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday giving the island country an ultimatum to conduct a credible probe into the war crimes by March, failing which he would seek an international investigation.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday dismissed reports about his government flouting agreements reached in the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord which created devolved administrative units, saying there had been no violations.
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