Ranjith de Zoysa

Thirimadura Ranjith de Zoysa (3 May 1962 – 4 December 2019) was a Sri Lankan politician and member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He was a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.[2] He died on 4 December 2019 while receiving treatments at a hospital in Singapore for a cardiac condition.[3]

Hon. Ranjith de Zoysa
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament for Ratnapura District
In office 22 April 2010 – 4 December 2019
Succeeded by	Waruna Liyanage
Majority	63,078 Preferential Votes
Personal details
Born	3 May 1962 Ratnapura
Died	4 December 2019 (aged 57) Singapore
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Political party	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
Other political affiliations	United People's Freedom Alliance
Spouse(s)	Muditha Prishanthi
Children	2
Occupation	Planter
Committees	Ministerial Consultative Committee on Plantation Industries[1]

Early life

Zoysa was born to a family of seven children from Elpitiya, Godakawela, on 3 May 1962. He obtained primary education from Siddhartha Vidyalaya in Elpitiya, secondary education from Rahula College in Elpitiya, and later an agricultural holder.[4]

Political career

In the late 1980s, motivated at the time by the radical political wave of the JVP, Zoysa entered politics. He was later elected chairman of Atakalampanna Pradeshiya Sabha in 1997 and appointed chairman of the same Pradeshiya Sabha as opposition leader in 2002. Zoysa was elected to the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council in 2004 and 2008, where he held many positions of provincial minister.[5]

He was first elected from the Rakwana Electorate to the Parliament in 2010, and re-elected from the same electorate in 2015. He later served as the Joint Opposition's deputy national organizer.[6]

In the last presidential election, he played a major role in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's victory.[7]

Controversies

He was arrested over assaulting a person on 20 December 2018 and remanded until 1 January 2019.[8]

References

1. "Hon. T. Ranjith De Zoysa, M.P." The Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
2. "T. RANJITH DE ZOYSA, M.P." Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
3. "MP Ranjith De Zoysa passed away". www.lankanewsweb.net. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
4. "Ranjith De Zoysa". Ada Derana. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
5. "Ranjith De Zoysa Passed Away". Hiru News. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
6. Hettiarachchi, Thushara (5 December 2019). "MP Ranjith de Zoysa dead". Daily News. Sri Lanka. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
7. "T. Ranjith De Zoysa, M.P." Colombo Page. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
8. "UPFA MP Ranjith Zoysa remanded". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 4 December 2019.