National Congress (Sri Lanka)
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National Congress
தேசிய காங்கிரஸ் ජාතික කොංග්රසය |
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|---|---|
| Leader | A. L. M. Athaullah |
| Secretary-General | A. L. M. Athaullah |
| Founder | A. L. M. Athaullah |
| Founded | February 2004 |
| Split from | Sri Lanka Muslim Congress |
| National affiliation | United People's Freedom Alliance |
| Parliament |
0 / 225
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| Provincial Councils |
3 / 455
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| Election symbol | |
| Horse | |
The National Congress (Tamil: தேசிய காங்கிரஸ் Tēciya Kāṅkiras) is a registered political party in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 2004 by A. L. M. Athaullah. The National Congress is a member of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
Following the death of M. H. M. Ashraff, the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), in September 2000 there was a power struggle between Ashraff's widow Ferial Ashraff and Rauff Hakeem for control of the party. In June 2001 Hakeem, A. L. M. Athaullah and some other SLMC MPs left the governing People's Alliance (PA). Ferial Ashraff remained in the PA as leader of the National Unity Alliance.
In October 2001 the Hakeem led SLMC joined the United National Party dominated United National Front (UNF). The UNF defeated the PA at the 2001 parliamentary election after which Hakeem was appointed a cabinet minister in the UNF government. Athaullah was only given a non-cabinet ministerial position. This caused jealousy amongst Athaullah and other SLMC members who accused Hakeem of monopolising cabinet ministerial positions for himself. Another leadership battle emerged in the SLMC, this time between Hakeem and Athaullah. In December 2002 Hakeem suspended Athaullah who was chairman of the SLMC. A legal battle ensued after which Athaullah and his supporters were expelled from the SLMC.
Athaullah and his supporters launched the Ashraff Congress political party on 25 February 2003. In February 2004 Athaullah and some others left the Ashraff Congress to form the National Muslim Congress (NMC) which became a constituent member of the newly formed UPFA, the successor to the PA.
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