Govinthan Karunakaran (Tamil: கோவிந்தன் கருணாகரன்; born 1 October 1963), also known by the alias Jana (Tamil: ஜனா), is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, former provincial councillor and Member of Parliament.[1]

G. Karunakaran
கோ. கருணாகரன்
ගෝවින්දන් කරුණාකරන්
Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
Assumed office
2020
ConstituencyBatticaloa District
In office
1989–1994
ConstituencyBatticaloa District
Member of the Eastern Provincial Council
In office
2012–2017
ConstituencyBatticaloa District
Personal details
Born
Govinthan Karunakaran

(1963-10-01) 1 October 1963 (age 61)
Political partyTamil Eelam Liberation Organization
Other political
affiliations
Tamil National Alliance

Karunakaran was born on 1 October 1963.[1][2] He was educated at Cheddipalayam Maha Vidyalayam and St. Michael's College National School.[2] Following the Black July anti-Tamil riots he left school in August 1983 and in November 1983 he joined Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), a Tamil militant group.[2][3] He received Guerrilla warfare training and June 1987 became TELO's regional leader in Ampara District and Batticaloa District.[2] Later he became general-secretary of TELO.[2]

Karunakaran contested the 1989 parliamentary election as one of the ENDLF/EPRLF/TELO/TULF electoral alliance's candidates in Batticaloa District and was elected to the Parliament.[4] He contested the 2012 provincial council election as one of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) electoral alliance's candidates in Batticaloa District and was elected to the Eastern Provincial Council.[5] Karunakaran and the other newly elected TNA provincial councillors took their oaths on 28 September 2012 in front of TNA leader and Member of Parliament R. Sampanthan.[6]

Karunakaran contested the 2015 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Batticaloa District but failed to get elected.[7][8] He contested the 2020 parliamentary election as a TNA candidate in Batticaloa District and was re-elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.[9][10]

Electoral history of G. Karunakaran
Election Constituency Party Alliance Votes Result
1989 parliamentary[4] Batticaloa District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization ENDLF/EPRLF/TELO/TULF 25,651 Elected
2012 provincial[11] Batticaloa District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization Tamil National Alliance 16,536 Elected
2015 parliamentary Batticaloa District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization Tamil National Alliance Not elected
2020 parliamentary[10] Batticaloa District Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization Tamil National Alliance 26,382 Elected

References

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  1. ^ a b "Directory of Members: Govindan Karunakaram". Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka: Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e de Silva, W. P. P.; Ferdinando, T. C. L. 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka (PDF). Colombo Sri Lanka: Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. p. 268. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2015.
  3. ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (8 August 2020). "TNA suffers electoral setback in North and East polls". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 1989" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Election Commission of Sri Lanka. p. 33. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Preferential votes". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Eastern Province Chief Minister assumes duties". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - The Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. No. 1923/3. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 13 July 2015. p. 269A. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Ranil tops with over 500,000 votes in Colombo". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  9. ^ "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. No. 2187/26. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 8 August 2020. p. 6A. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  10. ^ a b "General Election 2020: Preferential votes of Batticaloa District". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Batticaloa preferences" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2014.