FOR THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF POLITICS

Retired Supreme Court Judge C.V. Vigneswaran emerged from the shadow of a long and distinguished judicial career this week to be named as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) chief ministerial candidate at the elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).

In a country where judges of its highest court have spent their retirement in dignified silence and away from the hurly burly of politics, Justice Vigneswaran creates history by becoming the first Supreme Court Judge to contest elections.

In the run-up to the last presidential election in 2010, there was speculation that former Chief Justice Sarath Silva will be fielded as the joint opposition candidate to run against President Mahinda Rajapaksa. However, that never materialised.

The announcement of Justice Vigneswaran's candidature comes in the same week when the United National Party (UNP) nominated retired High Court Judge P. B. Waraweva as a candidate for the Central Province. Mr. Waraweva offered a dissenting judgment in the ‘white flag' case against Sarath Fonseka.

A career judicial officer, Justice Vigneswaran schooled at Royal College, Colombo and trained as a lawyer before joining the judicial service in 1979. He served as a Magistrate and District Judge in Batticaloa, Chavakachcheri and Mallakam and was appointed Additional District Judge of Colombo in 1987.

Justice Vigneswaran was known to be fond of the lower courts and reminisced on the day of his retirement that they provided for, “Independence, room for innovativeness and a direct relationship with the lawyers, litigants and the court staff”.

“I preferred the drama of the original courts despite the hard work I had to put in rather than what takes place today in this rarefied atmosphere,” Justice Vigneswaran was to say years later, on the eve of his retirement from the Supreme Court.

Justice Vigneswaran was appointed to the High Court in 1988 and served in the Northern, Eastern, North Central, Uva and Western provinces. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1995. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in March 2001. Justice Vigneswaran retired in October 2004. He had by then

Justice Vigneswaran was appointed to the High Court in 1988 and served in the Northern, Eastern, North Central, Uva and Western provinces. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1995. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in March 2001. Justice Vigneswaran, a novice to politics, will be pitted against the might of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) which has all the state resources at its disposal

acquired a reputation as an impartial judge whose opinions and judgments were widely respected. He was also known to be quite outspoken.

If anything Justice Vigneswaran gave vent to his feelings even more upon retirement, after he was freed from the shackles of being a judge of the highest court and was a much sought after speaker at legal events.

His candidature for the chief ministerial post is significant for several reasons other than being the first judge of the Supreme Court to seek elected office in the country. It comes at a critical juncture for the TNA and the NPC.

Elections to the NPC are being held at a time when the TNA is at the crossroads. Its constituent parties have not been seeing eyeto-eye on many issues from time to time since the end of the Eelam war four years ago and there were fears that the Alliance may split into factions.

That however was averted through a period of intense negotiations and the intervention of religious dignitaries. The next question that then arose was who would be the Chief Ministerial candidate from the TNA for the NPC.

That was an important consideration as many believe that the TNA commands sufficient support to win the election. Therefore, its candidate is quite likely to become the first Chief Minister of the Northern Province.

It was no secret that veteran politician Mavai Senathirajah, a veteran parliamentarian who replaced former Opposition Leader Appapillai Amirthalingam in Parliament when the latter was assassinated, harboured ambitions of becoming the first Chief Minister.

Mr. Senathirajah had all the credentials, having been a seasoned politician through the turbulent years when the Eelam war raged in earnest. His baptism in Parliament came from replacing those whom the Tamil Tigers killed -- Amirthalingam and later Neelan Tiruchelvam.

Being a grassroots politician, Mr. Senathirajah is widely known in the Northern Province where the ‘name recognition' factor could be critical at the elections. Thus he was perceived by many in the TNA as being the ideal choice as its chief ministerial candidate.

However TNA leader Rajavarothian Sampanthan held a different view. He saw the NPC chief ministerial position as being pivotal for the TNA'a campaign to advocate for more rights for the Tamil community in the aftermath of the Eelam war.

Therefore, Mr. Sampanthan argued that the candidate needed to be an articulate individual who was a respected member of the community, preferably with professional credentials rather than a politician. The thinking behind this was that victory at the poll was a foregone conclusion -hence the selection of Justice Vigneswaran. An emotional Mr. Senathirajah is said to have been magnanimous about Justice Vigneswaran's candidature, bowing to the dictates of his leader and offering his unstinted support. Indeed, this process appears to have forged unity in the TNA.

Even if those reading the ground situation predict victory for the TNA at the NPC elections in September, Justice Vigneswaran, a novice to politics, will be pitted against the might of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) which has all the state resources at its disposal.

Ironically, the UPFA also faces a dilemma regarding its chief ministerial candidate. Minister and Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda covets the job as do former Tamil Tigers Velayudham Dayanidhi alias Daya Master and K. Pathmanathan.

Some have likened Justice Vigneswaran's entry to politics to that of another distinguished Tamil, Lakshman Kadirgamar. However Mr. Kadirgamar was offered an easy passage to Parliament through the National List but Justice Vigneswaran is being subjected to the rigours of an election.

The TNA would do well to note that Justice Vigneswaran is a man of strong beliefs. From time to time he has articulated in the public domain his support for federalism and greater autonomy for the Tamil community. He is likely to continue in that vein, if elected chief minister.

In recent times, retiring judges of the Supreme Court have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. By plunging into politics late in life C. V. Vigneswaran has opted for a career away from quiet solitude. The coming months will tell whether it was a wise decision.