The UNP strategy could have been better organized – What do you say?

Despite the fraction of the resources put into the campaign as compared with the millions wasted by the UPFA, there has been a much better bang for their buck by the UNP. It is clear that there are hardly any people canvassing for the UPFA on a house to house basis as they only get scolded by the electorate. So it is an election the UNP could win, had they been better organized and more focused and been able to convince potential financiers that they are worth backing. Even a well directed and focused campaign strategy costs money, something they lack.

Despite all these handicaps and the internal dissensions, the UNP have been able to get a good showing and acceptance by the general public, as the only true alternative to the present regime. No matter how hard the JVP organization works, they are no match for the UNP and if the UNP was as well disciplined as the JVP in as much as a dedicated volunteer base, they can give the Govt. a good run for their money.

It is arguable that the UNP should have initially performed opinion polls and concentrated their meager resources in the areas where they will have the most chance of an upset if the resources were correctly directed there.

I am of the opinion that they should have concentrated their resources in the NCP as they could have overturned a massive majority for the government by a focused approach as this government has completely let down their traditional voter base there without coming up with any of the promised goods, the least being the farmer who is now almost bankrupt.

If their resources were limited they could have concentrated on winning the Polonnaruwa District only, as the people there are fed up of the ruling dynamics that have taken every bit of wealth from the people and left them impoverished, a point that the UNP could easily have exploited for political gain. The fact that they missed this clue is to their detriment.

Let us hope they learn lessons from these elections and get heartened that they had a chance that they blew away due to their own making. They must improve on this performance in the next elections and show their grass roots that they are not a lost cause, and in time will reap the reward for patience and a clearly focused message in the future that is backed up with a proper understandable message to the masses to believe in, clearly enunciated.