A five-member delegation from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the leading party in Sri Lanka’s governing National People’s Power, arrives in India on Sunday for talks with senior figures in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The delegation is led by JVP general secretary Tilvin Silva. It also includes central committee member Chandrika Adikari, MP Aboobucker Athambawa, district committee member Kabilan Suntharamoorthy and international department member Kalpana Madhubhashini, the Daily Mirror reported, carrying reporting from The Hindu.

Hiru News adds that the visit takes place under the BJP’s “KNOW BJP” programme and comes at the invitation of the party’s foreign affairs department.

Who they will meet

Vijay Chauthaiwale, who heads the BJP’s foreign affairs department, said the delegation would meet BJP national president Nitin Nabin, national general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh and other senior party leaders.

The group is also scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and to hold talks with leaders of BJP morchas and departments at the party’s headquarters. The itinerary includes visits to the Indian Parliament and the BJP’s Delhi state office.

“The visit aims to strengthen BJP-JVP engagement, facilitate the exchange of organisational experiences and further deepen ties between the two political parties,” Chauthaiwale said in a statement.

A note on the length

The Daily Mirror and The Hindu BusinessLine both describe a five-day visit from 27 September to 1 October. Hiru describes a four-day visit running until 1 October. Neither side explains the difference; the dates given are identical.

The two accounts also transliterate two names differently — Hiru gives “Chandrika Adhikari” and “Kabilan Sundaramoorthy” where the Indian reports give Adikari and Suntharamoorthy.

The trip is a party-to-party exchange rather than a state visit, though it includes a meeting with India’s foreign minister. Ada Derana also reported the visit, but its site was unreachable and its account could not be checked. No comment from the JVP itself appears in any of the reports.

Sources