.jpg)
Days after plunging the Ilankai Arasu Tamil Katchi (ITAK) into crisis following an announcement by the central committee of the party of their support Sajith Premadasa, leader-elect S Shritharan addressed a rally stating that the Kilinochchi branch of the party has decided to unanimously decided to support common Tamil candidate Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanenthiran.
Shritharan took to his Facebook page to state that that Kilinochchi members of the party had met and decided to vouch their support for the common Tamil candidate unconditionally.
The news comes days parliamentarian Sumanthiran announced that the party was in favor of backing Sajith Premadasa at the Sri Lankan presidential polls. Sumanthiran took to Twitter this week to state that "hat is the position of every member of our party including myself".
"There is absolutely no confusion with regard to that position," he claimed. Yet the party's leader-elect Shritharan has repeatedly called for Tamils to back Ariyanenthiran at the upcoming polls.
The latest announcement demonstrates the split that has been prevalent in the party, which has seen a steady decline in its popularity.
Many felt that supporting a Tamil candidate was the only way to demonstrate to the international community that a united Tamil voice in the North-East is still demanding self-determination and liberation from Sri Lankan oppression. The only other Tamil demand had been from the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) to boycott the elections entirely, stating that it was the “only option” left for the Tamil people.
