EROS files nominations for PC elections

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 December 1998, 14:17 GMT]
The political party of the EROS, the Eelavar Democratic Front (EDF), filed nominations for the North-Western Provincial Council elections, scheduled to be held on January 24 in a surprise move today. Representatives of the EDF filed nominations at the Puttalam and Kurunagala Kachcheries (district secretariat).

The EDF was registered as a political party to contest the Parliamentary general elections in 1989 when EROS leader Balakumar was the general secretary of this Tamil militant group.

The majority of the EROS leadership, including Balakumar, its de facto leader, joined the Liberation Tigers when war broke out in 1990.

A minor faction of the group stayed in Colombo with the Sri Lankan Army's backing.

This faction was led by Shankar Raji, a senior politburo member of the EROS domiciled in Chennai.

This group was generally recognised as the EROS since then and was run by Sudhaharan alias Sudha master. This EROS was based in Colombo.

Tamil political sources said that it was not clear as yet whether the EROS in Colombo led by Sudha Master and Raji is behind the nominations by the EDF today.

Shankar Raji recently served a term in jail in Chennai after being convicted for smuggling foreign currency out of India.

No one was available at the EROS office in Colombo for comment.

Other Colombo based political parties expressed surprise and said that neither Sudha master nor Shankar Raji could not be contacted.

The EROS in Colombo had dwindled into oblivion after failing in its attempt to contest the Jaffna local government elections as part of a coalition comprising the EPDP, PLOTE and TELO.