Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam | |
|---|---|
சிறீ ரங்கா ஜெயரத்தினம் | |
| Member of Parliament forNuwara Eliya District | |
| In office 2010–2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1971-01-22)22 January 1971 (age 54) |
| 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 knownJ. Sri Ranga, is aSri Lankan Tamil broadcaster, politician and former Member of Parliament.
Jeyaratnam was born on 22 January 1971.[1] He was educated atVavuniya Tamil Madhya Maha Vidyalayam andJaffna Hindu College.[2] He then entered theUniversity of Colombo where he was captain of thefootball team.[3][4]
After university Jeyaratnam joinedMBC Networks, presenting theErimalai (volcano) programme onShakthi FM.[2] He later moved to television, presenting theMinnal (lightning) programme onShakthi TV.[2][5] This programme was very popular amongst theUp-country Tamils, particularly the youth.[5] He is leader of the Citizen's Front (CF).[5]
Jeyaratnam has close ties withPresidentMahinda Rajapaksa'sfamily and is a close friend of his sonNamal 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 ofTamil National Alliance MPNadarajah 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 nearHatton.[11]
Jeyaratnam contested the2010 parliamentary election as one of theUnited National Front's candidates inNuwara Eliya District and was elected toParliament.[12][13] Jeyaratnam did not contest the2015 parliamentary election but was instead placed on theUnited People's Freedom Alliance's (UPFA) list ofNational 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 |
