Wanni District UPFA MP Hunais Farook joined the United National Party a short while ago.

Farook participated in a UNP meeting at Sirikotha that was also attended by common candidate of the opposition and UNP National Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

It was widely speculated that a UPFA Parliamentarian would join the United National Party today. Several stalwarts of the UNP held discussions with Farook over the past few days.

Farook is one of the Muslim MPs who repeatedly urged the government to curtail the activities of the BBS. He was elected to Parliament from the Wanni district at the General Election in 2010.

Farook is the first UPFA MP to join the opposition after Friday. Nuwaraeliya District MP P. Rajathurai, who officially announced his support to the United National Party at a press conference yesterday, joined the party last Friday following the press conference held by Maithripala Sirisena.

Speaking to reporters in Horagolla yesterday, common candidate of the opposition, Maithripala Sirisena indicated that more UPFA MPs will cross over to the opposition in the coming weeks. However, stalwarts of the UPFA, addressing a press conference in Colombo on Saturday, assured that no ruling party MP would cross over to the common opposition.