The ITAK is still without a clear idea in regard to a widely-discussed proposal that Tamils should field a common candidate at the presidential polls.
This was made evident when two leaders of the party aired opposing views at a meeting of Tamil politicians, clergy, university teachers, journalists and civil society activists in Jaffna on 09 June.
ITAK MP M.A. Sumanthiran rejected a Tamil candidate, but C.V.K. Sivagnanam said he was not opposed to the idea.
A Tamil common candidate was first mooted on 15 May by a Hindu priest at a remembrance for the war-dead in Nallur.
Thereafter, the idea was discussed widely, with the media raising it with the northern polity regularly.
Sumanthiran claimed the decision lied not with the civil society, but with the politicians.
The outcome of the presidential polls even yet to be announced is already evident, he said further.
For his part, Sivagnanam clarified the ground reality, where he questioned if a Tamil candidate will have support outside the north and the east, but said that did not mean he opposed the idea.
The TNPF led by MP Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam has called for a boycott of the presidential polls, saying the head of state works only for the majority community within a unitary country.
