By Easwaran Rutnam
The Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) led by Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, is contesting the Local Government (LG) elections in a bid to regain lost ground in the political arena.
TMVP spokesman Azath Maulana told The Sunday Leader the TMVP will be contesting the LG polls in Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amapara.
The TMVP says the main focus of the party will be Batticaloa, an area it once dominated politically when Mahinda Rajapaksa was President.
“Our campaigning for the election is going well and we have good support from the public,” Maulana said.
Maulana said that the political activity of the TMVP is continuing despite Chandrakanthan remaining behind bars.
Chandrakanthan was arrested on October 11, 2015 when he arrived at the CID office in Colombo to give a statement over the killing of former Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham. He has been in remand custody since then.
Maulana said that the TMVP has been in touch with Chandrakanthan through their lawyers and has his guidance for the LG elections.