Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) leader S Shiritharan extended his support to presidential candidate P Ariyanenthiran despite his party yet to make a final decision on which candidate it will support in the upcoming election.
Mr Shritharan met Tamil ‘common candidate’ Ariyanenthiran, who is also a Central Committee member of ITAK, on Thursday at his residence in Jaffna and declared his support for his candidacy.
Mr Shritharan stressed that it was his personal decision to support Mr Ariyanenthiran considering the ‘fate of the party’ and the well-being of the people who elected him to Parliament.
Meanwhile, the ITAK Central Committee, which met recently, called for an explanation from Mr Ariyanenthiran over his decision to agree to become the candidate without the approval of the party.
The initiative to form the Tamil People’s General Council to field a ‘common candidate’ at the upcoming polls came following an understanding reached between seven political parties and seven civil society outfits, which signed an MoU on July 22.
Describing the move as “selfish and unwise,” one senior ITAK leader said the party was considering asking their cadres and supporters to make their own presidential choice – just like the leader (Shritharan) did – rather than coming to a collective agreement.