Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam | |
---|---|
சிறீ ரங்கா ஜெயரத்தினம் | |
Member of Parliament for Nuwara Eliya District | |
In office 2010–2015 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 22 January 1971 |
Nationality | Sri Lankan |
Political party | Citizen's Front |
Other political affiliations | United People's Freedom Alliance |
Alma mater | University of Colombo |
Occupation | Broadcaster |
Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam ( Tamil: சிறீ ரங்கா ஜெயரத்தினம்; born 22 January 1971), also known J. Sri Ranga, is a Sri Lankan Tamil broadcaster, politician and former Member of Parliament.
Jeyaratnam was born on 22 January 1971. [1] He was educated at Vavuniya Tamil Madhya Maha Vidyalayam and Jaffna Hindu College. [2] He then entered the University of Colombo where he was captain of the football team. [3] [4]
After university Jeyaratnam joined MBC Networks, presenting the Erimalai (volcano) programme on Shakthi FM. [2] He later moved to television, presenting the Minnal (lightning) programme on Shakthi TV. [2] [5] This programme was very popular amongst the Up-country Tamils, particularly the youth. [5] He is leader of the Citizen's Front (CF). [5]
Jeyaratnam has close ties with President Mahinda Rajapaksa's family and is a close friend of his son Namal Rajapaksa. [6]
During 2005 and 2006 Jeyaratnam and his family received several threats from unidentified persons. [7] [8] In November 2006, after Jeyaratnam's TV programme featured the assassination of Tamil National Alliance MP Nadarajah Raviraj, the police informed Shakthi TV that Jeyaratnam's life was in danger. [9] [10] On 3 February 2010 an unidentified group attacked the vehicle he was travelling in near Hatton. [11]
Jeyaratnam contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the United National Front's candidates in Nuwara Eliya District and was elected to Parliament. [12] [13] Jeyaratnam did not contest the 2015 parliamentary election but was instead placed on the United People's Freedom Alliance's (UPFA) list of National List candidates. [14] [15] However, after the election he was not appointed to the National List. [16] [17]
Election | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 parliamentary [12] | Nuwara Eliya District | UNF | 33,948 | Elected |