Palani Digambaran

Honourable
Palani Digambaran
MP MPC
பழனி திகாம்பரம்
Minister of Hill Country, New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development
Assumed office
4 September 2015
Minister of Plantation Infrastructure Development
In office
12 January 2015 – 17 August 2015
Deputy Minister of National Languages and Social Integration
In office
21 August 2014 – 10 December 2014
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament
for Nuwara Eliya District
Assumed office
8 April 2010
Member of the Central Provincial Council for Nuwara Eliya District
In office
2004–2010
Succeeded by G. M. M. Piyasiri
Personal details
Born (1967-01-10) 10 January 1967
Political party National Union of Workers
Other political
affiliations		 Tamil Progressive Alliance
Religion Hindu
Ethnicity Indian Tamil

S. Udeiappan Palani Alagan Digambaran (Tamil: எஸ். உடையப்பன் பழனி அழகன் திகாம்பரம்; born 10 January 1967) is a Sri Lankan politician and government minister. He is the leader of the National Union of Workers (NUW), a member of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) and United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG).

Early life

Digambaran was born on 10 January 1967.[1]

Career

Digambaran runs a textile business and is leader of the National Union of Workers (NUW).[2][3]

Digambaran contested the 2004 provincial council election as one of the Up-Country People's Front's candidates in Nuwara Eliya District and was elected to the Central Provincial Council.[4] He was re-elected at the 2009 provincial council election, this times as a United National Front (UNF) candidate.[5]

Digambaran contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the UNF candidates in Nuwara Eliya District and was elected to Parliament.[6][7] The NUW left the UNF alliance on 22 April 2010 after a dispute over National List seats.[8] Digambaran continued to be part of the opposition as an independent MP.[9] In August 2013 Digambaran and two others were charged with attempting to acquire 12 perches of land and a vehicle by force from their lawful owner but the case was dropped after the defendants offered to compensate the victim for the vehicle.[10]

Digambaran was appointed Deputy Minister of National Languages and Social Integration on 21 August 2014.[11][12] He resigned from the UPFA government on 10 December 2014 to support common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena at the presidential election.[13][14] After the election newly elected President Sirisena rewarded Digambaran by appointing him Minister of Plantation Infrastructure Development.[15][16]

Digambaran was one of the United National Front for Good Governance's candidates in Nuwara Eliya District at the 2015 parliamentary election. He was elected and re-entered Parliament.[17][18][19] He was sworn in as Minister of Hill Country, New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development on 4 September 2015.[20][21][22]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Palani Digambaran
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
2004 provincial[4] Nuwara Eliya District UCPF 18,387 Elected
2009 provincial[5] Nuwara Eliya District UNF 45,229 Elected
2010 parliamentary[6] Nuwara Eliya District UNF 39,490 Elected
2015 parliamentary[23] Nuwara Eliya District UNFGG 105,528 Elected

References

  1. ↑ "Directory of Members: Palany Thigambaram". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  2. ↑ "New faces in Parliament" (PDF). The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 18 April 2010.
  3. ↑ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (23 April 2010). "Decline of Tamil representation outside the North and East". dbsjeyaraj.com.
  4. 1 2 "Results of Provincial Council Elections 2004" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  5. 1 2 "Preferences Nuwara Eliya" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  6. 1 2 "Parliamentary General Election - 2010 Nuwara Eliya Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  7. ↑ "General Elections 2010 - Preferential Votes" (PDF). The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 11 April 2010.
  8. ↑ Perera, Yohan (23 April 2010). "Workers Union leaves UNF". Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  9. ↑ Indrajith, Saman (23 April 2010). "NUW to back govt.". Island, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  10. ↑ Weerasooriya, Ananda (9 August 2013). "Bail approved for Digambaram". Ceylon Today.
  11. ↑ Somawardana, Melissa (21 August 2014). "Prabha Ganesan and Digambaran sworn in as Deputy Ministers". News First.
  12. ↑ "Two more Deputy Ministers take oaths before President in Si Lanka". Colombo Page. 21 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Ferdinando, Shamindra (11 December 2014). "Two deputy ministers quit; CWC suffers split". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  14. ↑ Srinivasan, Meera (11 December 2014). "2 more MPs leave Rajapaksa government". The Hindu.
  15. ↑ "New Cabinet ministers sworn in". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 12 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "New Cabinet takes oaths". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 12 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1928/03. 19 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Ranil tops with over 500,000 votes in Colombo". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015.
  19. ↑ "Preferential Votes". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015.
  20. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1932/07. 14 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "New Cabinet". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 4 September 2015.
  22. ↑ "The new Cabinet". Ceylon Today. 4 September 2015.
  23. ↑ Jayakody, Pradeep (28 August 2015). "The Comparison of Preferential Votes in 2015 & 2010". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
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