In the recent dramatic national elections in Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse secured about the same number of Sinhala votes as did his opponent Maithripala Sirisena, but trailed miserably in areas where the minority communities dominated the voter population. Had he really been guilty of what he was alleged to have perpetrated during the campaign, namely blocking Tamils and other minority groups from casting their ballots, he would most probably have carried the day.
What almost certainly cost him the edge among his Sinhala supporters was a perception that he was being too accommodative towards India, such as by releasing, in November, the Tamil Nadu fishermen who had been captured by the Sri Lankan navy in 2011. This columnist expected the release to take place after the polls, but clearly Rajapaksa wanted to do a good turn to Narendra Modi, and build goodwill with the new Prime Minister of India which could be useful after he won a third term in office.