Minister S.B. Dissanayake of the 'Maithri faction' has said that it was not the tradition of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) to name a Prime ministerial candidate.

The UNP will contest the general election under the ‘elephant’ symbol, stresses its chairman Malik Samarawickrama.

Minister Rajitha Senaratne says neither Mahinda Rajapaksa nor his supporters has been entrusted with the task of preparing the SLFP’s nomination list for the upcoming general election.

A leading supporter of Mahinda Rajapaksa has asked the JHU to forget enmities of the past and join with the UPFA as the SLFP has decided to work as a single entity at the general election.

A good governance regime minister, whose first name is that of a giant of ancient kings, is not going to contest at the general election, reports say.

Several leading politicians close to president Maithripala Sirisena are holding talks to contest the general election on the UNP ticket, says Sirikotha sources.

Former SLFP national organizer Basil Rajapaksa says he will neither contest the upcoming general election nor get appointed to parliament on the national list.