On paper, his chances are bright simply because the Sri Lanka Podujana Perumuna (SLPP) the party of the Rajapaksa have the maximum number of lawmakers, a total of 104 in a House of 225. The SLPP general secretary initially announced that the party will back Wickremesinghe. However soon afterwards the SLPP senior leader G.L.Peiris said that no such decision had been taken. With the Rajapaksa clan in political limbo the SLPP is no longer a cohesive party rallying behind the family. While a core group of loyalists remain, many others will vote according to their preference.