However his successor Rajiva Wijesinha, contested in the Presidential election of 2000 and came 6th in a field of 15, a success that served to advance the image of the party.
An academic by profession for much of his working career, he was most recently Senior Professor of Languages at the University of Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka.
Days of Despair by Rajiva Wijesinha is a darker sequel to the author's political comedy Acts of Faith which came out in the early years of the racial and political strife in Sri Lanka.