The opposition leaders of the Mihintale and Thalawa Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Anuradhapura District crossed over to the UPFA from the UNP yesterday.

However, the day before this cross over, the opposition leader with the 2 other UNP members had voted against the budget of the Mihintale PS. Only the chairman and another UPFA member had voted for it while 4 UPFA members were not in the session.

In both Pradeshiya Sabhas the UPFA holds power, with 6 out of 9 members in Mihintale and 11 out of 18 members in Thalawa, even before the crossovers took place. In the last Local Authorities Election in March 2011, UPFA carried 60 percent of popular vote in Mihintale Pradeshiya Sabha and 58 percent in Thalawa Pradeshiya Sabha.