Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa made a low-key return to the political stage on Saturday, appearing visibly frail as he attended a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) rally in Anuradhapura. The 80-year-old former president was helped onto the stage by aides and supporters. Footage from the event showed several men standing close to him and steadying him as he made his way to his seat at the front. Rajapaksa did not address the crowd.

His appearance came as the SLPP sought to project strength at a rally held in the absence of his eldest son and party national organiser, Namal Rajapaksa, who is currently in remand custody.

The party had heavily promoted Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presence ahead of the event. SLPP operations chief Johnston Fernando had said the former president would attend but would not deliver a speech or sit on the main stage. Instead, he was expected to take a place in the front row.

The sight was a striking contrast to Rajapaksa’s earlier political appearances. During his years as one of Sri Lanka’s most powerful political figures, he was known for commanding huge crowds and delivering lengthy speeches, often becoming the central figure at SLPP gatherings.

Who Is Mahinda Rajapaksa?

Mahinda Rajapaksa is one of Sri Lanka’s most influential, polarising and controversial political figures. He served as the country’s president from 2005 to 2015 and later returned to frontline politics as prime minister. He thrice served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022.

His presidency is closely associated with the final phase of Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war. Government forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, ending the conflict that had devastated the country for nearly three decades. Rajapaksa became a hugely popular figure among many sections of Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority, while his government also faced international criticism and allegations over human rights abuses during and after the war.

The Rajapaksa family’s political influence grew significantly during his years in power. Several members of the family held senior positions in government, helping turn the Rajapaksas into one of the most powerful political dynasties in modern Sri Lanka.

But that dominance began to unravel during the country’s severe economic crisis in 2022. Widespread protests forced Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign as prime minister in May that year, while his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned as president two months later.

Despite the family’s political setbacks, Mahinda has remained an important figure within the SLPP and among its supporters.