Anuradha Jayaratne

Dissanayake Mudiyanse Anuradha Lanka Pradeep Jayaratne (born 22 December 1985) is a Sri Lankan politician currently serving as the parliamentary leader of the New Democratic Front. He is a Member of Parliament from the Kandy District. Previously, he was State Minister of Rural Irrigation and Tanks Development, and a former member of the Central Provincial Council. He is the youngest son of the former prime minister D. M. Jayaratne.

Education Educated at Trinity College, Kandy and Royal College, Colombo, Jayaratne gained an LL.B. from the University of Buckingham and completed law exams at the Sri Lanka Law College taking oaths as an Attorney at law in 2010. He thereafter gained an LL.M. from the University of Colombo.

Political career After becoming a lawyer, Jayaratne went into active politics in 2010, working as a private secretary to his father, who was then the prime minister. In 2013, he ran for a seat in the Central Provincial Council and was successfully elected, earning the highest number of preferential votes. Despite this feat, Sarath Ekanayake was picked over Jayaratne for the post of Chief Minister.

Jayaratne contested the 2015 parliamentary elections and was elected to parliament from the Kandy District. In September 2015, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment by president Maithripala Sirisena. In August 2016, Jayaratne was appointed Chief Organizer of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in Ududumbara. He was re-elected in the 2020 parliamentary elections and was appointed State Minister of Rural irrigation and tanks development. Jayaratne was re-elected to parliament in 2024 as a member of the New Democratic Front led by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, and was subsequently appointed as the parliamentary leader of the NDF.

Electoral history ElectionConstituencyPartyAllianceVotesResult 2013 provincial Kandy District SLFP UPFA Elected 2015 parliamentary Kandy District SLFP UPFA Elected 2020 parliamentary Kandy District SLPP SLPFA Elected 2024 parliamentary Kandy District PUFA NDF Elected