Political sources say Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, MP, and his son, Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon, State Minister for Defence, were not invited to an SLPP meeting held at Rattota over the weekend.

The meeting, chaired by SLPP National Organizer Namal Rajapaksa, was addressed by party General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, parliamentarians Johnston Fernando, Tissa Kuttiarachchi and several others.

The chief organizer of the meeting, State Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Rohana Dissanayake hasn’t invited the Tennakoons.

Sources say a major rift has emerged between those who back Ranil Wickremesinghe’s candidature at the forthcoming presidential poll and the group determined to field an SLPP candidate