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The banquet hall of the official residence of the fallen prime minister of Sri Lanka is full of supporters – many sleeping on chairs and on the floor – who came to guard while he fights for power with an old rival .
Thousands of Loyalists from all over the country are staying at the Temple Trees Residence in Colombo, a colonial period bungalow where Ranil Wickremesinghe has been hiding since being fired more than a week ago.
Day and night, they fill coconut oil lamps and keep jasmine-scented incense sticks in a banquet hall with a capacity of 5,000 people, usually reserved for State dinners and prestigious weddings, while the 69-year-old prepares for his next move.
President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Wickremesinghe on October 26, but refused to accept the decision or leave the residence. The former leader, Mahinda Rajapakse – who was appointed in his place – can therefore settle down.
S.M. Faheed, a convinced supporter of the 73-year-old Wickremesinghe Unified National Party (UNP), promised to stay until the resolution of the constitutional crisis.
"I will not leave until Ranil has the prime minister's seat," Faheed said. "We are here to support him and make sure no one tries to throw him out of the trees of the Temple."
"If I have to do it, I'll stay here until I die."
Wickremesinghe has asked lawmakers to vote to decide between him and Rajapakse and end the crisis, but Parliament has been suspended since his dismissal.
"If I win … (Rajapakse) has to withdraw, if he wins, I will leave Temple Trees and leave," Wickremesinghe told AFP on Friday.
But he will have a hard time convincing his supporters to yield.
– Prayers for victory –
Shakuntala Devi traveled 400 kilometers from the northern Tamil city of Jaffna to join the growing crowd every day.
Volunteers bring meals to Devi and others while Buddhist monks sing prayers that are played on a sound system in the premises.
Devi said she wanted to show solidarity after the Wickremesinghe government built 5,000 homes for people like her, displaced by the civil war that ended in 2009.
"I came to show my gratitude to the Prime Minister," she said.
Another protester, Sandya, said: "We want to say to Sirisena: if you are ashamed, call Parliament and let our leader take his seat."
Other people in the large crowd echoed his opinions. One person said that Sri Lanka had "become the laughingstock of the world".
"Sirisena is the most ungrateful man, that he is cursed and struck by lightning," said Jayanthi Jayewardena, an elderly supporter.
Sirisena was elected president of Rajapakse in 2015 with the help of Wickremesinghe and UNP. The two formed a coalition, but have since struggled badly.
The dismissal was right in the situation, which Wickremesinghe acknowledged to have surprised him.
– & # 39; Desperate people & # 39; –
Sirisena cut off Wickremesinghe's official bodyguard suite and limousine pool. An exhausted plainclothes contingent is now monitoring the residence and a private cleaning company has also been hired.
You can also see some police commandos in camouflage uniforms.
Legislators loyal to Wickremesinghe organize flawless press conferences in the residence, which has become the focus of media attention, crowds gathering visiting politicians and asking them to take selfies.
In comparison, Rajapakse remained discreet, discreetly organizing a campaign to convince MPs to support him at the Parliament meeting.
Huge sums would have been offered to potential defectors and some lawmakers have already left the UNP.
Wickremesinghe, who spoke with local and foreign journalists during talks with allies, said he was concerned that the power struggle could escalate into street violence.
"There may be problems in the country if it continues," he said.
"We will ask our people not to resort to violence … but you do not know what is going on in a situation like this … Some desperate people can start a bloodbath."
Thousands of Loyalists from all over the country camp at Temple Trees Residence in Colombo
Wickremesinghe asked lawmakers to vote and end the crisis
Crowds visit politicians and ask for selfies
