By The Pulseline News Desk
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has decided to turn its recently launched district rally campaign into a monthly political mobilisation, with one district-level rally planned each month.
The next rally is expected to be held in Matara, with the date to be announced shortly.
The decision follows the inaugural rally in Anuradhapura, where groups associated with figures such as Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila were invited to participate. However, discussions within the SLPP have since resulted in a decision to conduct future rallies independently rather than as joint opposition events.
According to party sources, the SLPP leadership believes the current political situation, including the legal proceedings involving National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa, provides an opportunity to strengthen the party’s own political campaign.
As a result, the Matara rally will be presented as an SLPP rally, rather than an opposition-wide platform. Other parties or individuals may participate, but the event will remain under the SLPP banner.
Namal campaign extends to religious observances
At the same time, the SLPP has been organising religious observances at several places of religious significance to invoke blessings on Namal.
The programme encountered an issue in Matara after an event planned at the historic Matara Bodhiya on 22 September was initially prevented from taking place there. An SLPP member involved in organising the programme said that the temple trustees had initially informed organisers that the event could not be held at the venue. According to the source, the trustees later agreed to permit the ceremony following several inquiries, but the SLPP organisers decided to move it elsewhere.
The religious event was subsequently planned for Devundara on 24 September.
The SLPP has alleged that the initial decision was influenced by a senior Cabinet Minister representing Matara District. That claim comes from the party side and has not been independently established.
The party’s women’s wing also organised religious rituals at the Nawagamuwa Paththini Devala on 23 September, coinciding with Namal’s appearance before court in connection with the CID case last week.
A Bodhi Pooja at Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihara was organised for 25 September, with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa also attending it.
A political campaign taking shape
The combination of monthly district rallies and religious observances marks a broader SLPP mobilisation around Namal and the party’s political future.
While the religious events are presented as efforts to invoke blessings, their timing alongside Namal’s court appearances and the party’s new rally programme has given them a clear place within the SLPP’s wider political campaign.
The decision to keep future rallies under the SLPP banner also indicates that the party intends to use the coming months to strengthen its own organisational identity rather than fold its campaign into a broader opposition movement.
With Matara set to host the next rally, the SLPP is now seeking to turn the Anuradhapura launch into a sustained district-by-district campaign.
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