Little influence of Jayalalithaa at the Centre gives Sri Lanka a relief

Colombo, May 19:

on Tuesday said it is pleased that

Chief Minister

has lost any bargaining power with the Narendra Modi government because of the majority BJP has on its own in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls. President Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration was pleased that it could do business with the Centre without Tamil Nadu exercising undue influence, Lanka's media minister and government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said.

"A powerful government in Delhi is very good for us. Whatever the decision that the Centre takes, it will be without any undue influence from states like Tamil Nadu," Rambukwella said.

Despite sweeping the polls, Jayalalithaa will have little influence at Centre

"We are very happy that there is a very strong government and Prime Minister (-elect) Modi does not have to depend on any other party for his majority. This means even if Jayalalithaa had won 37 out of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, she would not be in a position to influence the Centre," Rambukwella told reporters here.

He said Rajapaksa was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Modi after his spectacular victory and said both leaders had "a lot of similarities" but did not elaborate.

Modi had led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a massive victory in the general elections, with the party alone getting 282 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

PTI