Hirunika Eranjali Premachandra Yattowita (
Sinhala: හිරුණිකා ප්රේමචන්ද්ර; born 14 October 1987)
better known as Hirunika Premachandra is a member of the
Samagi Jana Balawegaya
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (, ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சக்தி, "United People's Power") is a political alliance that is led by the opposition leader of Sri Lanka, Sajith Premadasa. The alliance was formed with the appr ...
.
She is a former Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament from the
United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
and a former member of the Western
Provincial Council.
Born to
Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, Hirunika was educated at
Visakha Vidyalaya
Visakha Vidyalaya () is a girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is a National School managed by the central government providing primary and secondary education.
History
The school was established in 1917 by Celestina Dias as the Buddhist ...
.
Political career
Premachandra started her political career soon after her father's death claiming justice to her father's killing. She accused UPFA politician
Duminda Silva for the death. She joined her fathers' party
Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 2014 to contest for the Provincial Council for the Western Province. She topped the list with the highest numbers of votes. In November 2014 she joined the oppression camp at the presidential election supporting
Maithripala Sirisena
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி ...
. Soon after the Sirisena won the election Premachandra was appointed as a member of the central committee of the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party. In the 2015 General election, she joined the
United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
list in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
in protest against
Mahinda Rajapaksa having been granted a nomination for the
UPFA
The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக ...
. She was elected from the
United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
to the parliament in that election. Premachandra was later sacked from the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party for contesting from the
UNP. On 18 October 2017 she was appointed as
United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
organiser for Ratmalana by Prime Minister
Ranil Wickramasinghe
Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...
.
Marriage
In July 2015 Premachandra married model and movie star Hiran Yattowita, they have three children.
Estranged case
On 21 December 2015, Premachandra was alleged to have kidnapped an aspiring model and cricketer Cheruka Weerakoon from a shop by her bodyguards and threatened to take pictures of him without his sunglasses. It is alleged that the Weerakoon was forcibly taken away in a black Defender jeep registered under Premachandra's name. The model, who was subsequently released from his enforced detention, lodged a complaint with the police giving a different narrative. The news rose out quickly in local media. Premachandra announced a press conference and denied any knowledge of this incident, claiming that she was at a function at the Colombo Municipal Council where President
Maithreepala Sirisena was also in attendance. Weerakoon confirmed her presence at the said incident and some CCTV footage which showed her activity with him a few days earlier. As a result of the incident police jailed her bodyguards but not her.
Filmography
* No. denotes the Number of Sri Lankan film in the Sri Lankan cinema.
See also
*
List of political families in Sri Lanka
This is a partial listing of prominent political families in Sri Lanka.
Abdul Majeed
*A. L. Abdul Majeed (15 November 1933 – 13 November 1987) also known as Mutur Majeed, former Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Member Parl ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Premachandra, Hirunika
Living people
Sinhalese politicians
Members of the 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka
1987 births
Members of the Western Provincial Council