The Tamil People's National Alliance (

abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

TPNA; ta, தமிழ் மக்கள் தேசிய கூட்டணி, translit=Tamiḻ Makkaḷ Tēciya Kūṭṭaṇi), also known as the Thamizh Makkal Tesiya Kootani (

TMTK), is a

political alliance A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used diffe ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

that represents the country's

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern ...

ethnic minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

. It was formed in February 2020 by a group of Tamil nationalist parties after they broke away from the Tamil National Alliance. The alliance is recognised by the

Election Commission of Sri Lanka The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is the constitutional authority responsible for administering and overseeing all elections in Sri Lanka, including the Presidential, Parliamentary, Provincial and Local Authority elections. Sri Lanka has ha ...

as registered political party with the fish as its

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

History

On 9 February 2020 four parties, consisting of

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), signed a memorandum of understanding at the Tilko Hotel in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mos ...

to form the Tamil People's National Alliance (Thamizh Makkal Tesiya Kootani) to contest the parliamentary election. The four parties were: *

Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) is a series of Sri Lankan political parties and a former militant separatist group. Militant separatists The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by K. Pathmanabha (Padmanaba), Douglas Devananda, Sur ...

(EPRLF), led by former MP Suresh Premachandran * Eelam Tamil Self Rule Party (Eela Thamilar Suyatchchi Kazhagam, ETSK), led by provincial minister

Ananthi Sasitharan Ananthi Sasitharan ( ta, அனந்தி சசிதரன், translit=Aṉanti Cacitaraṉ; born 10 September 1971 ) is a Sri Lankan Tamil activist, politician and provincial minister. She is the wife of Velayutham Sasitharan (alias Elilan ...

* Tamil National Party (Thamizh Thesiya Katchi, TTK), led by former MPs

M. K. Shivajilingam Mahalingam Kanagalingam Shivajilingam ( ta, மகாலிங்கம் கனகலிங்கம் சிவாஜிலிங்கம்) is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, provincial councillor and former Member of Parliament. Early l ...

and N. Srikantha * Tamil People's Alliance (Thamizh Makkal Kootani, TMK), led by former

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

C. V. Vigneswaran The TPNA claimed that it would give alternative leadership for the Tamil people as the TNA, which had dominated Tamil politics since its formation in 2001, had moved away from its

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

and had failed to deliver on the pledges made to the Tamil people of north-eastern Sri Lanka. Vigneswaran's is the alliance's leader while Premachandran is president and

Sivasakthy Ananthan Annamalai Nadesu Sivasakthy Ananthan (born 29 July 1964) is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Member of Parliament. Early life Ananthan was born on 29 July 1964. Career Ananthan is a member of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (E ...

is general-secretary. The alliance has an eleven-member governing council chaired by Vigneswaran - six from the TMK, two each from the EPRLF and TTK and one from the ETSK.

Election results

2020 Parliamentary General Election

References

External links

{{Sri Lankan Tamil people 2020 establishments in Sri Lanka Organisations based in Northern Province, Sri Lanka Political parties established in 2020 Political party alliances in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil nationalist parties