Speaking to Sri Lanka Mirror, Marikkar said 10 years of public outcries against the corrupt Rajapaksa regime could be used to the gain of the UNP at its election campaign.

It would have been a problem to attack the SLFP, led by Sirisena, who was elected president with the UNP’s support, but no such issue arose in attacking the SLFP which tries to make the corrupt, traitorous Rajapaksa the prime minister, he said.

With signs emerging that the SLFP is going to submit a single nomination list comprising both the Sirisena and Rajapaksa sides, many leading SLFP figures have expressed a desire to join the UNP, he added.