“Thamizh Arasuk Katchi” in Trouble : Jaffna MP Sivagnanam Shritharan’ s Insidious Campaign Against his own party ITAK.
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Retiring Supreme Court Judge Gamini Amarasekara made several important observations while addressing court recently. According to newspaper reports, Justice Amarasekara emphasised that while external threats to judicial independence could be collectively resisted, internal challenges posed a far more insidious danger. The eminent judge reportedly stated “A judge with the right convictions can resist external pressure, but when the threats come from within the system, they are harder to confront.”
The pertinent point made by Justice Amarasekara about an internal threat being more dangerous than an external challenge is widely applicable . There are many such instances. Currently in Sri Lanka the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi(ITAK)known in English as the Federal party is experiencing the wisdom ingrained in Justice Amarasekara’s words. The premier political party of the Sri Lankan Tamil people is currently facing challenges from within and without. While the party has withstood external challenges, threats of a more dangerous nature seem to be emerging internally.
The ITAK has in recent times fared well in elections despite facing formidable political odds. In the presidential elections of September 2024, the ITAK threw its weight behind Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya(SJB) in spite of a common Tamil presidential candidate being fielded by a number of Tamil political parties and civil society organizations. Sajith Premadasa came second to Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the national level. However on a regional level , It was Sajith Premadasa strongly backed by the ITAK who topped in the Northern and Eastern districts.
The Parliamentary elections of November 2024 saw the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)led National People’s Power(NPP) winning 159 seats in a Parliament of 225 members. Of these seven were Tamil MPs from the North and East. Again the ITAK was the only Sri Lankan Tamil political party to effectively combat the “compass”party in the North and East .The ITAK tally of seven elected MPs equalled the number of Tamil MPs from NPP elected from the North and East. The ITAK got an additional seat on the national list and became the third largest party in Parliament with eight MPs.
In the recently concluded Local Authority elections of May 2025, the ITAK came first in 35 of the councils (municipal,urban &divisional) it contested in the North and East. The ITAK came second in about a dozen Tamil majority councils and also won wards in ten more Muslim and Sinhala dominated councils. Moreover the ITAK was able to form viable administrations in 34 councils with the aid of some Tamil and Muslim parties and independent groups.
Despite these commendable successes in the electoral sphere against rival Tamil political parties, the ITAK is in bad shape as far as the party’s internal political situation is concerned. The prime cause for this is the controversial conduct of the ITAK Jaffna district MP and leader of the party’s parliamentary group ,Sivagnanam Shritharan. This former school principal has been conducting an insidious campaign -overtly and covertly-against the ITAK central working committee in general and leading office-bearers in particular.
Seniormost ITAK MP
What makes the problem more acute is the fact that Shritharan is the senior-most ITAK MP currently in Parliament. 57-year-old Shritharan first entered Parliament as a Jaffna district MP in 2010. He continues to be in Parliament since then, having won the elections of 2015,2020 and 2024. Furthermore, Shritharan has been getting the highest number of preference votes among candidates contesting under the ITAK symbol of the House in Jaffna since 2015.
Although Shritharan has been successfully contesting from the Jaffna electoral district, his primary vote bank is Kilinochchi.Both administrative districts of Jaffna and Kilinochchi together comprise the Jaffna electoral district. Shritharan and his acolytes have a strong grip on the voters of Kilinochchi through a mixture of pro-tiger Tamil nationalist rhetoric, patronage politics and strong arm tactics.An influential section of the global Tamil Diaspora with pro-LTTE leanings also backs him in more ways than one. The three divisional councils in Kilinochchi district are also packed with Shritharan.s minions. Shritharan’s political domination of Kilinochchi is grudgingly acknowledged by sections of the Tamil media who refer to him as the “Kilinochchi Zamindar”(Feudal land-owner).
Discernible Pattern
Analysts and observers of current Sri Lankan Tamil political affairs have identified a discernible pattern in Sivagnanam Shritharan’s conduct towards the ITAK. At one level , Shritharan along with his supporters has been trying to take control of the party.On another level, Shritharan aided and abetted by some of his fellow travellers, engages in overt and covert activities that are detrimental to the party and undermine the ITAK. A common factor in both these approaches is Shritharan’s visceral hatred of former Jaffna district MP and current ITAK acting secretary Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran.
The Sumanthiran-Shritharan tussle is an on going issue about which I have been writing frequently in the past. The matter is multi-dimensional and has many layers to it. An important aspect of Shritharan’s anti-Sumanthiran politics is the wide support he receives from the anti-Sumanthiran lobby within the Tamil Diaspora and in Sri Lanka. Some feel Shritharan in this regard is a Cat’s paw used by vested interests opposed to Sumanthiran.
ITAK Inner -Party Elections
What has happened between Sumanthiran and Shritharan in essence seems to be this. Both of them joined forces and campaigned together at the 2020 Parliament election.Both were elected MPs from Jaffna. However this relationship broke down with the advent of ITAK inner-party elections for the party president post. Sumanthiran and Shritharan were the contestants 321 members of the ITAK general council cast their votes in Trincomalee on 21 January 2024. Shritharan with 184 votes won with a majority of 47 votes Sumanthiran polled 137. On the 27th of January elections to the ITAK’s primary decision making body the “Mathiya Seyal Kuzhu”(Central Working Committee) was held.
Subsequently an ITAK party member from Trincomalee,Para.Chandrasekaram initiated legal action on the basis that the number which voted at the Party president elections was in excess of the numbers allocated to the General Council in terms of the ITAK party constitution. The legality of the elections of office bearers was challenged on the basis that procedures set out in the party constitution were not followed. An injunction was sought.
Court Order
An enjoining order issued by the Trincomalee Courts debarred the ITAK from implementing any of the purported decisions taken at the purported General Council meetings held on 21 and 27 January 2024 until the hearing and determination of the application for an injunction.
What this meant was that neither the newly elected ITAK office bearers or central working committee could function until the matter was resolved in courts .It was also admitted that only 150 to 160 members of the General Council were eligible to vote at the Elections in terms of the party constitution. However 321 had voted in January 2024.
In “Old”Hands
Thus a quirk of fate prevented the newly elected ITAK president and other office bearers from assuming office .The “new” central working committee also could not function .The “old”outgoing central committee and office bearers continued to be in office. Thus the party was in the hands of the “old”Central committee and office-bearers
“Maavai”Senathirajah who had served as ITAK president for 10 years resigned his post after a while. ITAK senior vice president CVK Sivagnanam was elected as acting president by the Central Working committee. In a separate development party secretary Dr.P. Sathialingam resigned and was succeeded by MA Sumanthiran as Secretary.
With the ITAK party injunction case dragging on, it was the ITAK’s “old” office-bearers and central working committee that ran the affairs of the Party.President Sivagnanam and Secretary Sumanthiran worked in tandem to re-structure the party and revive its flagging fortunes. The majority in the Central Workinng Committee and the Politburo endorsed and supported them. All party decisions were taken with the approval of the majority in the Central Working Committee and Politburo.
Influential Quartet
A quartet comprising President CVK Sivagnanam, Secretary MA Sumanthiran, National list MP Dr.Sathiyalingam and Batticaloa MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam became very influential within the party. Shritharan and his handful of supporters within the central working committee were virtually powerless and ineffective.
Shritharan worsened the situation further by adopting combative tactics against the party. A glaring instance was in the 2024 Sri Lankan presidential elections. While the ITAK overtly supported Sajith Premadasa, Shritharan covertly supported the so called common Tamil presidential candidate Packiyaselvam Ariyanethran. This was flagrant defiance!
“Lone Wolf”
When Parliamentary polls were held in 2024 , Shritharan played the “lone wolf”while remaining in the ITAK pack. He did not participate in the propaganda meetings of fellow candidates from the ITAK. Only two of the ITAK Jaffna candidates were accommodated on his platform. Shritharan’s campaign subtly suggested that people should vote for him alone and not for others in the ITAK.Only Shritharan was elected as MP from the ITAK in Jaffna.
Shritharan became ITAK Parliamentary group leader. He was also nominated to the Constitutional Council. Despite his elevation, Shritharan has been unable to exercise authority within the party. Even among the eight ITAK parliamentarians, four are firmly opposed to him. Two MPs are neither his supporters nor opponents. Only one MP is regarded as a Shritharan supporter currently. The majority of members in the 37 member central working committee and 11 member Politburo are not in Shritharan’s camp.
Vocal Warrior
This is due to two reasons. One is that the bulk of the Central Working Committee and Politburo membership though subscribing to Tamil nationalist ideals is neither extremist nor “tigerish”. As such they are not supportive of Shritharan’s hawkish (empty) pro-tiger rhetoric. The other reason is that Shritharan has been exposed to many as a shallow “humbug” politician lacking in sincerity and efficiency He is “Vaaichol Veeran” or Vocal Warrior only. Shritharan may be effective in garnering votes, but has been very ineffective in providing constructive and meaningful political leadership.
Unable to take control of the ITAK, Shritharan engages in puerile politics aimed at undermining the party. Instead of doing so openly, he promotes negative acts of omission and commission by his henchmen and camp followers.
Chemmany Flashpoint
The latest flashpoint in this regard occurred on June 25th at Chemmany in Jaffna during the non -violent protest named “Anaiyaa Vilakku” held to draw the sympathetic attention of the world towards the discovery of over 35 skeletons in a mass grave in the Sithupathi cemetery in the Chemmany area of Ariyaalai,Jaffna. Shritharan’s supporters from Kilinochchi came to Chemmani in 20 buses.
Some of these persons from Kilinochchi led by a man called Jeevarajah confronted ITAK president CVK Sivagnanam when he was leaving the venue and abused him in raw filth and called him a traitor. The octogenarian Sivagnanam did not remonstrate and departed in his car. The incident was filmed and showed on numerous you tubes . It was projected wrongly as an incident where members of the public had chased away the ITAK president Sivagnanam.
19 of the persons involved in the incident have been identified so far. They are all Kilinochchi residents. Jeevarajah is called “Vatti”(interest)Jeevan”because he lends money on interest. He was suspended from the ITAK for fielding an independent group but remains a loyalist of Shritharan and Shritharan’s right hand man in K’nochchi Arunasalam Velamaalihithan. Tamil newspapers reported that Shritharan had tendered an apology to Sivagnanam over the incident.
“Protector”CVK
There is much anger within the ITAK rank and file about the CVK Sivagnanam incident. It appears to be an “own goal”because the ITAK [resident Sivagnanam has been a “protector”of Shritharan in the party. Sivagnanam treads a “middle”line in the ITAK where he cooperates with Sumanthiran regarding party matters while keeping at bay those howling for Shritharan’s blood. Hence Shritharan’s rush to mend fences with CVK.
Senathirajah Funeral
The Chemmany incident has also revived memories of what happened at ITAK stalwart “Maavai”Senathirajah’s funeral at Maaviddapuram in February this year. Shritharan was in charge of all funeral arrangements and presided at the funeral ceremony. Shritharan allegedly prevented some from speaking while allowing others to criticise some menbers of the ITAK publicly. Furthermore a gang of mem dressed in black who were allegedly transported from Kilinochchi, intimidated and threatened a number of ITAK members attending the funeral. Most of those accosted were perceived as critics of Shritharan within the party.
“Thamizharasu” Troubles
The ITAK may be the premier Sri Lankan Tamil political party but there is no denying the fact that the “Thamizharasu”is a divided entity. It is a party facing both external and internal challenges. As Justice Amarasekara observed “ internal challenges posed a far more insidious danger”. How long will Jaffna District MP Shritharan continue his insidious campaign against his own party? What is the ITAK founded in 1949 going to do in its Diamond Jubilee year?
D.B.S. Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com
This article appears in the “DBS Jeyaraj Column”of the “Daily Mirror” of 7 July 2025.It can be accessed here-
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