The SJB yesterday said it was willing to join forces with the UNP, provided that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to make way for Sajith Premadasa to lead the alliance.

Addressing the media in Colombo, Gampaha District SJB MP Harshana Rajakaruna said that discussions with Wickremesinghe could only take place once he returned to Sri Lanka from India.

Rajakaruna emphasised the need for right-wing political forces, including the UNP, to unite under the SJB banner. “

The SJB MP said, “We warned Wickremesinghe that if he contested the last presidential election, he would come a poor third. If he had opted out of the presidential race, Sajith Premadasa would have been the President today.”