Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the de facto leader of the Joint Opposition, has burst the bubble of a new government formed by the UPFA and the JO. 

Rajapaksa had said in no uncertain terms that the Joint Opposition must remain in opposition without accepting ministerial position. He made his position clear when he spoke to media at the Hulftsdorp Courts Complex, yesterday. 

Although the JO earlier claimed that it would offer unconditional support to the UPFA to form a government, Rajapaksa's statement clearly showed that the JO would in fact remain in the opposition. 

It was also evident that the Joint Opposition deliberately misled the SLFP group supporting Sirisena by giving contradictory viewpoints. 

"This has now thrown President Sirisena into an embarrassing situation," a top political source with strong links to the SLFP and the Joint Opposition. 

" In this situation, it is a great blunder to miscalculate the personal relationship between Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and former President Rajapaksa. They will openly fight but secretly protect each other," the source further said, adding that entering an SLFP government was anyway a 'disastrous choice' for the Joint Opposition at the moment 

"The Joint Opposition is at the peak of its popularity while the SLFP is at the lowest ebb. So, it makes no sense to partner with them for a coalition government," he added. 

However, under the current circumstances, the President has no option but to resume talks with the UNP to continue with the same government with Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister.